i       :"••>  ; 
•••. 


j- ton  "Vtestem  I''r.gn\Tug 


LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 


OF 


THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS 


WITH 


SELECTED  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS 


BY 

JOHN  W.  HOLCOMBE  AND  HUBERT  M.  SKINNER 
I* 


— Cut  Pudor  et  Justitiae  soror 
Incorrupta  Fides  nudaque  Veritas 
Quando  ullum  invenict  parem  ? 

—HORACE. 


Inbianapolis 

CARLON   AND  HOLLENBECK 
1888 


H4 


Copyright  by 
JOHN  W.  HOLCOMBE  AND  HUBERT  M.  SKINNER, 


(2) 


TO 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  INDIANA, 

WHOM   HE  SERVED  WITH   FIDELITY   AND   AFFECTION, 

AND  WHO   HAVE 
IN   HIS   CHARACTER   AND   FAME 

A   DELIGHTFUL  MEMORY   AND  AN  INSPIRING   LESSON, 
THIS   LIFE  OF 

H.  Ibenbricfts 

IS   DEDICATED. 


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M199484 


PREFACE. 


THIS  volume  does  not  claim  to  give  the  verdict  of  his 
tory  upon  the  career  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  The 
events  of  which  he  was  a  part  are  still  so  recent,  the  con 
troversies  in  which  he  debated  are  so  lately  settled,  where 
settled  at  all,  that  the  final  estimate  of  the  public  man  can 
not  yet  be  made.  When  time  shall  have  further  softened 
party  prejudices,  and  passed  judgment  upon  the  questions 
that  have  for  three  decades  divided  opinion  among  us, 
that  estimate  may  be  written.  There  is  no  fear  but  it  will 
be  high. 

There  is,  however,  an  important  service  which  a  work 
like  this  can  render.  It  can  give  to  the  present  genera 
tion  the  evidence  upon  which  the  final  verdict  must  be 
framed,  and  preserve  for  future  use  material  that  would 
otherwise  perish  with  the  lapse  of  time.  This  care  should 
be  taken  of  the  fame  of  a  great  man.  The  high  part  he 
played  in  the  history  of  this  nation,  the  love  of  party 
friends  and  respect  of  party  foes,  prove  Hendricks  great, 
and  deserving  of  such  care. 

A  man's  character,  opinions,  and  deeds  are  the  result 
of  the  disposition  with  which  he  is  born,  influenced  by  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed — the  interaction  be- 

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t>  PREFACE. 

tween  the  man  and  the  world.  For  an  adequate  under 
standing  of  his  life  and  work,  his  ancestry  and  origin 
must  be  explored,  to  weigh  the  inheritance  of  family 
traits;  his  theater  of  action  must  be  surveyed,  to  meas 
ure  the  influence  of  persons  and  events. 

An  effort  has,  therefore,  been  made  to  describe  the 
Hendrickses  of  the  early  day,  the  strong  characteristics 
of  the  family  and  of  its  prominent  members  ;  and,  in  ex 
amining  their  distinguished  contribution  to  the  building 
of  Indiana,  to  consider  at  the  same  time  the  condition  of 
the  young  State,  in  its  political,  educational,  and  social 
aspects.  Thus  are  traced  the  influences  which  formed 
the  most  eminent  man  of  the  family  and  of  the  State.  In 
Indiana  he  grew  to  maturity  of  body  and  mind,  and  there 
he  was  trained  for  his  part  on  the  stage  of  national  history. 

Entering  upon  that  wider  stage  at  a  time  when  ques 
tions  of  unparalleled  gravity  were  forcing  themselves  for 
ward  for  solution,  his  career  as  a  national  statesman  ex 
tended  through  the  most  momentous  period  in  the  life  of 
the  Republic.  Throughout  that  season  of  trial  he  studied 
to  understand  the  true  interests  of  the  whole  country,  and 
strove  with  his  might  to  promote  those  interests  as  he  un 
derstood  them.  As  a  member  of  the  majority,  his  care 
was  given  to  the  development  and  civil  organization  of 
the  public  domain  ;  in  the  thankless  part  of  leader  of  the 
opposition,  his  unvarying  aim  was  to  strengthen  the  Ad 
ministration  with  all  the  people,  by  rendering  its  meas 
ures  acceptable  to  the  powerful  minority  he  represented  : 
and  finally  when  war  was  over,  his  efforts  were  directed 
to  conciliation,  the  lightening  of  burdens,  and  the  restora 
tion  of  prosperity. 


PREFACE.  7 

A  strictly  independent  view  of  the  controversies  which 
led  to  war,  and  of  the  positions  of  parties  during  the  period 
of  insurrection  and  reconstruction,  is  presented  in  the 
following  pages,  with  the  constant  endeavor  to  deal  fairly 
with  men  and  measures.  The  attitude  of  Hendricks 
as  Representative,  Party  Leader,  and  Senator  is  given 
clearly,  but  not  in  a  spirit  of  vindication  ;  for  where  fidel 
ity  to  country  and  honesty  of  purpose  are  manifest,  there 
is  nothing  to  vindicate — "  the  simplicity  of  truth  is  fame." 
Subsequent  events,  from  whose  sentence  there  is  no  ap 
peal,  have  shown  the  wisdom  of  his  views  on  most  of  the 
questions  once  fiercely  disputed  ;  and,  where  mistakes 
must  be  admitted,  the  sincerity  and  fearlessness  and  skill 
with  which  he  maintained  his  opinions  still  command  ad 
miration.  Every  honest  soul  loves  "  an  open  and  sturdy 
partisanship." 

Finally,  as  affording  the  best  insight  into  his  mind  and 
the  sources  of  his  power,  a  selection  from  his  speeches 
and  writings  is  given.  The  instrument  of  the  statesman, 
the  means  by  which  he  attains  his  ends,  is  speech.  As  a 
speaker  Hendricks  was  singularly  able.  Clearness,  force, 
grace  were  the  qualities  of  his  style  ;  persuasiveness  was 
the  characteristic  of  his  utterance.  Many  of  his  efforts 
were  addressed  to  questions  of  great  public  interest,  and 
possess  a  high  historic  value  ;  others  dealt  with  questions 
that  may  again  be  brought  up  for  review,  and  should 
therefore  be  preserved  for  future  reference.  Of  both 
these  kinds,  some  of  the  most  important  specimens  are 
reproduced.  Of  minor  importance,  but  interesting  as 
illustrations  of  his  modes  of  thought  and  literary  style, 


PREFACE. 


are  his  brief  addresses  and  letters,  called  forth  on  special 
occasions.     A  few  examples  of  these  also  are  presented. 
Of  the  man  himself  it  may  be  said  that  an  integrity 
interwoven    with    every    fiber   of  his   being,    an    inflex 
ible  courage  and  a  wise  discretion,  together  with  a  genial 
disposition,  sympathy  for  all    men,  and    charity  for  all 
opinions,    gave    to    the    world    in    Hendricks    a    rarely 
noble    nature,— a    character  strong,  just  and    beautiful, 
infused,  to  a  far  higher  degree  than  is  often  granted  to 
the  politician,  with  those    admirable    qualities    of  mind 
and  heart,  described    to  us  in  these  latter  days  by  the 
phrase  "  sweetness  and  light." 


Acknowledgment  must  be  made  to  many  relatives  and 
personal  friends  of  the  late  Vice-President,  but  chiefly 
to  Mrs.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  for  invaluable  aid  and 
sympathy  in  the  work  of  preparing  this  book. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GOVERNOR   WILLIAM   HENDRICKS. 

An  old-time  mansion — A  busy  worker — Early  career  of  William  Hen- 
drieks — The  State  election  of  '22 — The  quaint  town  of  Corydon — The 
first  State  House — The  General  Assembly — Influence  of  the  Erie 
Canal — 'The  educational  condition — The  first  message — Acts  of  '22-3 
— Acts  '23-4 — The  new  capital — Indian  troubles — Revision  of  the 
laws— Joint  resolutions — The  Governor  at  home — Removal  to  Indi 
anapolis — Acts  of  '24-5 — Joint  resolutions — Election  to  the  U.  S.  Sen 
ate—  Subsequent  career— Estimate  of  his  life.  Pages  19-39 

CHAPTER  II. 

MAJOR   JOHN   HENDRICKS. 

The  Hendrickses  in  Holland— A  Pennsylvania  legislator — John  Thom 
son  and  the  Scotch  settlers  — John  Hendricks  and  Jane  Thomson — 
Removals— Shelby ville  founded— Senator  Smith's  story — The  militia 
musters — Politics  in  Shelby  ville  —  The  Hendricks  mansion  —  The 
mother  of  the  family— Business  life — Surveyor  of  public  lands — Later 
years.  Pages  40-54 

CHAPTER  III. 

THOMAS   A.  HENDRICKS— CHILDHOOD   AND   SCHOOL   DAYS. 

Early  youth — Educating  influences  —The  hickory  broom — Earliest  schools- 
— Mrs.  Kent's  labors — School  incidents — The  Seminary — Anecdotes — 
Walker's  Rail  Road — John  Robinson's  school — John  Dumont's  speech 
— Home  culture — Love  of  books— College.  Pages  55-67 

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10  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

The  town  of  Hanover— The  college  building -The  college  session  of  '36-7 
— Industrial  features — The  course  of  study — The  faculty— Pictures  of 
college  life— Hendricks's  character  as  a  "student— Scenes  about  Han 
over—The  tornado — College  troubles— The  class  of  '41 — The  Hanover 
of  to-day — The  Governor's  visit.  Pages  68-81 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE   STUDY   AND   PRACTICE   OF   THE    LAW. 

vStephen  Major  and  his  law  office— Judge  Thomson's  school  — Life  in 
Charabersburg — Acquaintance  with  Jere  S.  Black— Studies  in  Shaks- 
peare— Recollections  in  later  years— Return  to  Shelbyville— Incidents 
of  early  practice—"  Keep  the  Heart  Young  " — A  social  event — Mis.s 
Eliza  Morgan— Her  family — Courtship  and  marriage— Kirth  of  a  son — 
Hendricks  as  a  lawyer  — Judge  Greshara's  characterization— Judge 
Turpie's  characterization.  Pages  82-96 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

Nominated  for  the  Lower  House  in  '48— The  canvass— The  school  ques 
tion  -"  One  of  the  People  "  and  his  messages— Indianapolis  in  '48— The 
State  House— Eggleston's  description— The  vote  on  education— Joint 
resolution— Chairman  of  Committee  on  Banks— Governor  Whitcomb 
and  his  election  to  the  Senate— Edward  A.  Hannegan— The  new  school 
law — Acts  of  the  session.  Pa^es  97-108 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION. 

The  vote  for  the  Convention— The  members  from  Shelby  county— Organi 
zation — Judge  Holman's  reminiscences — Resolution  relating  to  juries — 
Speech  on  the  grand  jury  system —Report  of  Committee  on  Finance- 
Death  of  Mr.  Vanbenthusen — Remarks  on  the  occasion — Speech  on  the 
prohibition  of  colored  immigration— Speech  on  the  prohibition  of  State 
debts— Confidence  in  the  people— The  Masonic  Temple— Prominent 
members— Mr.  Tague's  resolution  — Mr.  Hendricks  on  Banks  and  Bank 
ing — Death  of  Richard  M.  Johnson — Adjournment— Reunion  of  mem 
bers  in  1885 — Speech  of  Mr.  Hendricks  on  that  occasion. 

Pages  109-132 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MEMBER   OF  CONGRESS — FIRST   TERM. 

The  turning  point  in  our  history — The  historic  trio— Clay's  compromises — 
"  Popular  sovereignty  " — Nominated  for  Congress — The  campaign — 
Uncle  Tom's  Cabin — The  election — The  old  Capitol — Prominent  party- 
leaders — Louis  Kossuth — The  Fugitive  Slave  law — The  Homestead 
bill — Death  of  Clay — Eiver  and  Harbor  bill— Second  race  for  Con 
gress — Reply  to  Bradley,  at  Shelbyville — The  national  campaign  of 
'52 — The  slave-holders'  policy — Extent  of  their  influence  in  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  Pages  133-148 
CHAPTER  IX. 

MEMBER  OF   CONGRESS — SECOND   TERM. 

The  Indiana  delegation— Remarks  on  railway  riot— Martin  Koszta — 
Soldiers'  pensions — State  University  land — Speech  on  the  Homestead 
Bill— Nebraska  Territory— Senator  Stephen  A.  Douglas— Popular  Sov 
ereignty — The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill — The  Sunday  circular — Its  effect 
on  the  conn  try  — Its  misstatements — A  scene  in  the  Senate — Authorship 
of  the  circular — Its  aspersions  of  Douglas — Republican  change  of  posi 
tion — Mr.  Blaine's  analysis  of  the  question  — Mr.  Hendricks's  position 
— The  pulpit — Disappearance  of  the  Whigs — The  "Fusion"  ticket  in 
Indiana — Race  with  Barbour — Know-nothingism — Speech  at  Shelby 
ville — Last  session  in  Congress— The  Pacific  Railway  bill. 

Pages  149-165 
CHAPTER  X. 

COMMISSIONER    OF   THE    GENERAL    LAND    OFFICE. 

A  summer  at  home — Appointed  to  the  Land  Office  — Extent  and  Import 
ance  of  the  office — Need  of  reform — Work  as  Commissioner— The  Mis 
souri  contest— Birth  of  the  Republican  party —Democratic  National 
Convention  of  '56 — The  canvass  in  Indiana — Mr.  and  Mrs.  flendricks 
at  home — A  Land  Office  law  school — Difficulties  with  the  President — 
An  apostate  Administration — The  Dred  Scott  decision — The  Douglas 
Imbroglio — The  English  bill — The  Lincoln-Douglas  debate — Return  of 
Douglas  to  the  Senate— A  noble  stand— Death  of  Senator  Broderick — 
Resignation — An  absurd  charge  answered.  Pages  166-193 

CHAPTER   XI. 

CANDIDATE   FOR  GOVERNOR. 

Divisions  in  the  Democracy  in  1860— The  contest  in  Indiana— The  lead 
ers — John  L.  Robinson  and  Jesse  D.  Bright — John  G.  Davis — Charges 
and  counter-charges— The  Democratic  State  Convention — Instructions 


12 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


for  Douglas— John  C.  Walker— Cyrus  L.  Dunham— Nomination  of 
Hcndncks— Speech  of  acceptance— David  Turpie— The  State  ticket — 
The  platform — The  Kepublican  State  Convention  and  its  nominees — 
The  joint  debates  of  Hendricks  and  Lane,  and  of  Turpie  and  Morton 
— The  Charleston  Convention— The  Baltimore  nominations— Bright 
for  Brecken ridge— The  result  in  Indiana.  Pages  194-213 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   DEMOCRATIC   PARTY   AND   THE   WAR   OF   SECESSION. 

A  parliamentary  contest— Growth  of  slavery  in  the  South— Cotton  spin 
ning  machinery— Expansion  of  the  cotton  crop— Increased  value  of 
slaves— Anti-slavery  agitation— The  Southern  view— The  Missouri 
Compromise — The  tariff  and  Nullification— There-annexation  of  Texas 
—The  Omnibus  bill— The  Kansas-Nebraska  conflict— Attitude  of  Bu 
chanan—Demands  of  the  South— The  true  Democracy— Their  trial  at 
Charleston— Disunion  sentiments  of  Abolitionists — The  Crittenden 
Compromise— Secession  accomplished— The  position  of  Douglas— His 
death— Characterization  by  Arnold — Democrats  in  the  army— The 
Democracy  the  Union  party— Democratic  position  on  slavery— Demo 
cratic  attitude  toward  the  Administration— View  of  S.  S.  Cox The 

situation  in  Indiana— A  letter  from  Mr.  Hendricks— His  view  of  the 
issues— Removal  to  Indianapolis.  Pages  214-240 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   STATE   CAMPAIGN    OF   SIXTY-TWO  AND  THE   GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

Democratic  State  Convention— Mr.  Hendricks's  speech  as  president— The 
resolutions— The  ticket-Jesse  D.  Bright  expelled  from  the  Senate- 
Mass  convention  of  July  30— The  political  campaign— The  Assembly 
organ  ized— Character  of  the  members— Governor  Morton— Harsh  meas 
ures  of  the  Government— Democratic  fears— A  partisan  contest— Mili 
tary  Board  and  Metropolitan  Police  bills— The  Milligan  Case— The 
Appropriation  bill— The  quorum  broken— The  Senatorial  election— 
Ex-Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright -Turpie  and  Hendricks  elected  to  the 
U.  S.  Senate— Senator  David  Turpie.  Pages  241-25& 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

UNITED   STATES   SENATOR. 

The  test  oath— Senator  Hendricks— Key  to  his  position— The  draft,  or  en 
rollment  act— Vindication  of  the  Democracy— Condemnation  of  seces 
sion—Emancipation  amendment— Pay  of  soldiers— Relations  with  Mr. 
Lincoln— Mob  at  Indianapolis— Visit  to  Minnesota— The  animus  of 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  13 

reconstruction — Meeting  of  Congress — Southern  members  excluded — 
The  Freedmen's  Bureau— The  Civil  Eights  bill  — The  Thirteenth 
Amendment — Congressional  Reconstruction  —  Military  despotism — 
Negro  suffrage — Governor  Morton's  conversion — Senator  Hendricks's 
position — Impeachment  of  the  President — The  managers  and  counsel 
— The  articles — The  trial — The  vote — Senators  Wade  and  Sherman — 
Senator  Hendricks's  opinion — Social  life — Friendship  with  Charles 
Sumner — Leader  of  the  Opposition — Services  as  member  of  important 
committees — Mr.  Elaine's  estimate.  Pages  257-295 

CHAPTER  XV. 

CAMPAIGN   OF   SIXTY-EIGHT. 

Hendricks  and  Baker,   candidates — Democratic  National  Convention — 
Gubernatorial  joint-canvass  —  The  campaign — Election  frauds — The 
result— Visits  to  the  West  and  South — Speeches— The  Southern  situa 
tion.  Pages  296-303 
CHAPTER  XVI. 

GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

The  political  situation  in  '72 — Grant  and  Greeley  nominated — Hendricks 
and  Brown — The  State  campaign — The  October  election — The  Novem 
ber  defeat — Electoral  votes  cast  for  Hendricks — The  Governor's  Secre 
tary — The  special  session — First  message — The  Baxter  bill — Accident 
and  illness — Acts  of  the  Assembly— Indianapolis  Exposition — Railway 
strike — The  State  Convention — The  Governor's  speech — The  platform 
and  ticket — Another  message— Legislation — Speeches  in  Ohio,  at  Phil 
adelphia,  and  at  New  Orleans— Last  message— Social  life. 

Pages  304-316 
CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

Piestige  of  Governor  Hendricks  at  home  and  abroad — Events  in  the 
East — The  Tweed  Ring — Governor  Samuel  J.  Tilden  —  Democratic 
State  administrations — The  St.  Louis  Convention — The  nominations — 
The  platform— The  campaign  of  '76 — Popular  enthusiasm— The  on 
ward  march  of  millions — The  enfranchised  South  — The  glorious  vic 
tory — The  joy  of  the  people — Irresponsible  governments  South — The 
magnitude  of  the  victory — Its  significance— Conspiracies  and  Return 
ing  Boards — The  8th  of  January — Wild  threats — War  imminent — The 
Electoral  Commission — The  Florida  case — The  Louisiana  case — The 
South  Carolina  case —The  Oregon  case — Summary  of  the  situation — 
Minor  points — A  partisan  decision — The  South  liberated. 

Pages  317-338 


14  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PRIVATE   AND   PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

Visit  to  Europe— In  London — Observations— France  and  Germany — Re 
ception  at  home — In  the  law  office — Occasional  addresses — Campaign 
speeches— The  Old  Ticket  —  Return  of  General  Grant— The  "third 
term  " — Garfield  nominated — The  Cincinnati  Convention — Hendricks 
and  McDonald — The  Indiana  campaign — Democratic-National  alli 
ance — Hon.  Albert  G.  Porter— Senator  Dorsey's  management  —  The 
elections  of  '80 — Literary  labors— Death  of  President  Garfield — State 
campaign  of  '82 — Estimate  of  the  victory — Second  visit  to  Europe — 
Letter  from  Naples — Home  life— Mrs.  Hendricks — Religious  stand 
ing — Remarks  on  G.  W.  Julian — Remarks  on  Mr.  Hayes. 

Pages  339-353 
CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   LAST   BATTLE. 

Making  prosperity — The  financial  panic— Republican  national  conven 
tion  of  '84 — The  Independents — Democratic  national  convention — 
Hendricks  and  McDonald— The  Vice  Presidency — Grover  Cleveland — 
Speech  in  the  Circle — Nomination  accepted — St.  John  and  Butler — 
Barbecue  at  Shelbyville  —  The  Candidates  for  Governor— Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  campaign  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Ohio— Railway  accident — His  in 
fluence  in  New  York — Tammany  Hall — The  November  victory — Dem 
ocratic  rejoicings — Demonstrations  at  Indianapolis.  Pages  354-366 

CHAPTER  XX. 

VICE    PRESIDENT. 

After  the  election— Visit  to  the  East— In  Indiana — Trip  to  Washington — 
The  inauguration — The  parade— At  the  White  House— The  ball— So 
cial  life — President  of  the  Senate — A  contented  mind— Office-seekers — 
Civil  service  reform — Relations  with  the  President — Visit  to  Yale  and 
Harvard — Entertainment  in  Boston — At  Atlantic  City — Visits  to  Chi 
cago  and  Waukesha — Death  of  General  Grant — Home  again — Parnell 
ratification  meeting — Mr.  Hendricks's  speech — Comments  of  the  Brit 
ish  and  Eastern  press— Preparing  for  the  session  of  the  Senate— An 
interval  of  repose.  Pages  367-388 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

"  FREE   AT   LAST," 

An  evening  reception — Sudden  death — A  sad  Thanksgiving — The  recep 
tion  of  the  news— Arrangements  for  the  funeral— Lying  in  state — At 
the  residence — A  city  in  mourning — Ceremonies  at  the  church — Dis 
tinguished  visitors — The  procession — At  the  cemetery.  Pages  389-403 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  15- 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 

Indianapolis  Sentinel — Indianapolis  Journal — New  York  Tribune— New 
York  World — New  York  Sun — Boston  Globe — Boston  Post — Cincin 
nati  Sun  —  Cincinnati  Enquirer  —  Cincinnati  Commercial-Gazette — 
National  Republican,  Washington— St.  Louis  Republican— Chicago 
Times — Evansville  Courier — Atlanta  Constitution — Memorial  address 
by  Senator  Voorhees — The  Monument  Association.  Pages  404-414 


SELECTED  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS. 

I.  ON  BANKS  AND  BANKING 417 

II.  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS 435 

III.  THE  ISSUES  OF  THE  WAR      .......  451 

IV.  ON  RECONSTRUCTION 455 

V.  CAMPAIGN  SPEECH  OF  SIXTY-EIGHT 495 

^  VI.  RACE  RELATIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH 510 

VII.  THE  ISSUES  OF  SEVENTY-FOUR    ...  515 

VIII.  LETTERS  OF  ACCEPTANCE 534 

^xl  IX.  CHRISTIAN  FAITH 541 

X.  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME  TO  THE  MILLERS          .        .        .  542 

XL  ADDRESS  AT  THE  LAYING  OF  THE  CORNER-STONE        .        .  544 

XII.  SHALL  Two  STATES  RULE  THE  UNION?   ...  559 

/    \\xni-  RESPONSE  TO  THE  TOAST  "  OUR  COUNTRY  "...  573 

f      J  XIV.  THE  ADVOCATE 577 

XV.  A  COMMON  SYSTEM  OF  JURISPRUDENCE       ....  589 

XVI.  AN  INFORMAL  LETTER  TO  A  PERSONAL  FRIEND      .        .  591 

XVII.  THE  NOMINATION  OF  MCDONALD 595 

XVIII.  THE  KEY-NOTE  OF  EIGHTY-FOUR    .        .        .        .  602 

X.      XIX.  REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  WAR 608 

"^  XX.  CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM 610 

XXL  THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES         .        .  616 

XXII.  LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT  FOR  IRELAND         .        .        .  633 


%ife  anb  public  Services 


Simplicitas  veri  fama  est. 

— DIONYSIUS  CATO. 


-.V.   . 


CORYDOM 


CHAPTER   I. 

GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

Any  day  toward  the  close  of  December  of  the  year  1822,. 
there  might  have  been  found  seated  at  a  desk  or  table  in 
a  plainly  furnished  room  of  perhaps  the  only  brick  house 
in  Corydon,  a  man  of  interesting,  if  not  striking,  personal- 
appearance — a  vigorous  form,  fully  six  feet  tall ;  a  clear, 
strong  face,  with  the  blue  eyes  and  fair,  reddish  hair 
which  tell  of  Scotch  descent.  Engaged  in  examining 
manuscripts,  printed  documents,  reports  and  volumes  of 
statutes,  and  in  writing  documents  and  affixing  his  sig 
nature,  he  seems  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  the  work 
before  him,  investigating  every  detail  with  conscientious- 
care. 

The  room  is  spacious,  with  a  ceiling  of  moderate 
height,  and  well  lighted  by  two  large,  many-paned  win 
dows,  placed  opposite  each  other.  On  another  side  and 
facing  the  door  is  a  fire-place,  built  wide  and  deep,  with 
hearth  of  flat  stones  and  fire-dogs  of  brass,  in  which 
burns  a  generous  fife  of  hickory  logs,  crackling  cheer 
fully  and  dropping  great  coals  into  a  glowing  bed.  The 
house  is  built  in  the  usual  style  of  the  Virginia  mansion 
of  the  day.  Two  full  stories  in  height,  it  stands  upon 
the  slope  of  a  hill  northeast  of  the  town,  presenting  its- 
chimneyed  gables  to  the  east  and  west,  and  to  the  north 
its  side  front,  at  the  middle  of  which  a  small,  columned 
portico  shades  the  main  entrance.  The  hall  runs  through 
the  middle  of  the  house.  Toward  its  farther  end  is  the 
stairway,  too  small  for  architectural  effect,  and  a  door 

(19) 


20  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

leading  to  the  dining  room  and  kitchen  in  the  rear  wing. 
On  the  sides  are  the  two  main  rooms  of  the  house,  one 
the  parlor,  and  the  other  now  used  for  a  working  office. 
In  this  sits  the  busy  worker.  From  time  to  time  he  calls 
a  grave  but  kindly  "  Come  in  !  "  in  response  to  a  knock 
on  the  door,  for  no  clerk  or  secretary  assists  his  labors ; 
much  less  has  he  the  luxury  of  a  servant  within  call. 

Perhaps  toward  evening  he  steps  out  upon  the  porch  to 
fill  his  lungs  with  the  frosty  air,  and  wishing  to  see  if 
there  is  any  stir  of  life  in  the  village  below,  he  walks  on 
to  the  gate,  for  the  corner  of  the  house  shuts  out  the  view 
from  the  door.  In  such  moments  as  these  perhaps  he 
thinks  over  the  train  of  events  which  have  brought  him 
where  he  is — how  eight  years  before,  he  had  set  foot  for 
the  first  time  on  the  soil  of  the  Territory  of  Indiana,  a 
young  school  teacher,  printer  and  law  student,  fresh  from 
the  two  years  of  labor  in  Cincinnati  which  had  followed 
his  graduation  from  the  little  Pennsylvania  college  at 
Cannonsburg. 

His  success  from  that  day  had  been  rapid.  He  brought 
with  him  the  second  printing  press  seen  in  the  Territory, 
and  established  at  Madison  The  Western  Eagle.  His 
political  career  opened  at  once.  The  winter  after  his 
arrival  he  was  made  secretary  of  the  General  Assembly 
sitting  at  Vincennes,  and  compiled  and  printed  at  his 
own  expense  a  complete  collection  of  the  territorial  stat 
utes,  declining  the  compensation  offered  therefor  by  the 
liberal  Assembly.  Next  year  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Assembly,  and  in  1816  was  secretary  of  the  Cory- 
don  Convention,  called  to  draft  a  Constitution  for  the 
State. 

He  was  elected  to  Congress  immediately  on  the 
admission  of  the  State  into  the  Union,  and  took 
his  seat  in  that  body  as  the  first  Representative 
from  Indiana.  'The  horseback  journey  over  the  moun 
tains,  in  company  with  his  courageous  wife,  he  doubtless 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  21 

recalled  with  pleasure  and  pride,  as  also  many  an  in 
cident  of  his  six  years  residence  in  the  Federal  capital. 
Among  the  legislative  measures  with  which  he  had  been 
identified  there  was  none  of  greater  importance  than  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  As  the  earnest  friend  of  freedom , 
he  was  appalled  to  find,  in  1820,  that  Missouri  had  chosen 
to  establish  slavery  in  the  heart  of  the  nation,  and  uttered 
words  of  solemn  warning  against  the  nationalization  of 
the  great  evil.  It  was  out  of  regard  for  the  earnest  utter 
ances  of  such  statesmen  that  the  Compromise  line  was 
drawn  at  36°  30',  and  the  great  Northwest  was  secured 
to  freedom.  This  compromise  was  pretty  generally  ob 
served*,  so  far  as  Congress  was  concerned,  for  many 
years,  until  a  new  compromise  was  rendered  necessary, 
which  was  deemed  by  the  later  statesmen  to  have 
repealed  the  old  restriction  in  spirit,  if  not  in  express 
terms. 

Now,  in  his  sympathy  with  all  such  efforts,  he  doubt 
less  often,  upon  entering  his  office,  glanced  with  admir 
ing  affection  at  a  portrait,  above  the  high  mantel  shelf,  of 
the  man  who  had  done  more  than  all  others  to  keep  the 
fatal  blight  from  Indiana — Jonathan  Jennings,  his  suc 
cessor  in  Congress  and  predecessor  in  his  present  office 
— for  the  house  described  is  the  Executive  Mansion  of 
Indiana,  and  the  man  is  William  Hendricks,  second 
Governor  of  the  State. 

The  circumstances  of  his  election  were  in  the  highest 
degree  gratifying.  The  machinery  of  nominating  con 
ventions  was  then  unknown,  and  the  modest  announce 
ment  of  his  name  as  a  candidate  was  the  only  step  taken 
by  him.  But  that  was  sufficient.  No  opposing  candi 
date  appeared,  and  when  the  votes  were  counted  it  was 
found  that  he  had  received  every  one  of  the  18,340  that 
were  cast.  This  was  the  "Era  of  Good  Feeling," 
signalized  two  years  previously  by  the  presidential 
election  in  which  Monroe  received  all  but  one  of  the  elec- 


22  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

toral  votes.  Still  more  marvelous  was  it  to  be  the  unan 
imous  choice  of  the  people  of  a  State. 

The  inauguration  occurred  on  the  4th  day  of  Decem 
ber,  in  the  quaint  town  of  Corydon,  which  had  been  for 
nine  years  the  Territorial  and  State  capital.  Its  selection 
for  the  seat  of  government,  in  1813,  was  due  chiefly  to 
its  central  location  among  the  settlements  of  the  Terri 
tory  ;  for  while  it  was  but  thirteen  miles  from  the  Ohio, 
it  then  occupied  nearly  the  middle  of  the  winding  strip 
of  peopled  land  bordering  upon  that  channel,  as  yet  the 
sole  highway  of  immigration.  It  now  contained  about 
five  hundred  inhabitants,  and  perhaps  a  hundred  houses, 
the  most  considerable  buildings  being  the  private  resi 
dence  rented  by  the  State  for  the  use  of  the  Governor, 
and  the  county  court  house,  used  for  a  State  House. 
The  latter,  a  rough-hewn  stone  structure  of  modest 
merits,  had  been  built  by  Dennis  Pennington,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  the  Territorial  Assembly — an  excellent 
man,  who  was  often  called  to  lay  down  his  trowel  and 
take  the  chair.  This  building  stood  facing  west,  in  a 
fine  natural  grove  near  the  center  of  the  town.  Its 
dimensions  were  small— about  thirty  feet  square— and  a 
little  belfry  over  the  main  entrance  gave  the  only  sug 
gestion  of  ornament.  In  the  single  lower  room  sat  the 
honorable  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  a  wooden 
stairway  at  one  side  led  to  the  chamber  above  where  the 
venerable  Senate  held  its  deliberations. 

Considered  with  reference  to  its  natural  features,  Cory- 
don  was  a  desirable  location  for  the  capital.  Few  scenes 
•in  Indiana  are  now  more  beautiful  than  views  of  the  old 
town  and  its  vicinity.  High  hills  stand  round  about ;  a 
broad,  clear  stream  encloses  it  with  silvery  arms.  The 
architecture  of  the  place  was  primitive,  dwellings  being 
mostly  constructed  of  logs,  though  some  of  them  were 
•commodious  and  tasteful  in  their  proportions  and  appear 
ance.  A  seminary  had  been  chartered  in  1816,  and  the 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  23 

educational  advantages  of  the  capital  were  considered 
exceptionally  good.  The  nearest  town  of  any  import 
ance,  and  the  base  of  supplies  of  all  manufactured  arti 
cles,  was  Louisville,  twenty-five  miles  to  the  east.  Pas 
sengers  and  freight  were  conveyed  by  stage  coaches  and 
wagons  from  that  place,  over  very  rough  roads  anc 
through  perilous  fords  ;  and  at  seasons  the  communica 
tion  was  very  irregular.  In  the  country  around,  farming 
was  not  conducted  on  an  extensive  scale.  Cattle,  horses 
and  hogs  subsisted  chiefly  upon  the  long  grass  of  the  hill 
sides  and  the  mast  of  the  forests,  the  little  grain  required 
being  supplied  by  each  farmer  from  a  few  acres  of  corn. 
The  last  three  years  had  been  a  period  of  discourage 
ment  throughout  Indiana.  Immigration,  active  up  to 
1819,  had  almost  ceased.  The  scourge  of  a  fever  sim 
ilar  to  the  dreaded  plague  of  the  Gulf  ports  had  prostrated 
almost  the  entire  population,  and  more  than  decimated 
several  villages.  A  financial  panic  which  extended 
throughout  the  West  deprived  the  people  of  a  circulating 
medium.  The  Indiana  Gazetteer  of  1850  remarks: 
4 'There  were  few  bank  failures  more  discreditable  than 
that  of  the  Bank  of  Vincennes,  which  had  become  the 
State  Bank  of  Indiana,  with  branches  at  Corydon,  Vevay 
and  Brookville.  A  large  amount  of  the  paper  became 
entirely  worthless  in  the  hands  of  the  holders,  and  the 
General  Government  never  obtained  but  a  small  portion 
of  about  $200,000  of  its  deposits  for  lands  sold.  The 
paper  of  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  at  Madison, 
was  ultimately  redeemed,  after  passing  at  depreciated 
rates  for  several  years."  There  was  no  money  in  the 
country.  All  trade  was  conducted  by  barter.  Persons 
who  owed  money  were  unable  to  save  themselves  from 
ruin,  except  through  the  clemency  of  their  creditors  ;  for 
property  would  be  sacrificed  for  less  than  a  tenth  of  its 
value.  The  prices  of  produce  fell  to  a  quarter  of  their 
former  rate. 


24  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

At  such  a  discouraging  period  did  the  new  Governor 
enter  upon  the  discharge  of  his  office. 

The  rank  of  a  Governor  was  then  deemed  far  higher 
than  that  of  a  member  of  either  House  of  Congress.  Posey , 
in  former  years,  had  resigned  his  seat  in    the  Federal 
Senate  to  become  the  Executive  of  the  wild  Territory  of 
Indiana.     Yet  to  Governor  Hendricks  the  change  must 
have  seemed  anything  else  than  a  promotion.      Wash 
ington  had  been  a  theater  of  great  events,  in  which  he 
had  been  a  prominent  actor.     The  affairs  of  nations  were 
exchanged  for  the  petty  details  of  local  administration. 
Yet  with  a  dignity  that  admitted  of  no  higher  thought,  he 
who  had  fought  with  the  giants  of  the  Congress  in  the 
great  struggle  of  the  Missouri  compromise,  and  led  in  the 
discussion    of  that  weighty  legislation,  now  directed  the 
humble  course  of  public  events  in  the  new  State.     It  was 
the  day  of  small  things.     The  membership  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  had  been  increased  by  the  act  of  apportion 
ment  of  1821.     The  Senate  consisted  of  sixteen  mem 
bers—a  gain  of  six.     The  House  had  grown  in  member 
ship  from    twenty-nine  to  forty-three.     The  compensa 
tion  of  the  legislators  of  either  house  was  two  dollars  $er 
diem.     The  sessions  were  held  annually,  and  lasted  about 
six  weeks.     Much  of  the  legislation  concerned  matters 
upon  which  no  Assembly  would  deign  to  bestow  its  time 
at  the  present  day.    Every  corporation  of  whatever  nature 
must  be  chartered,  and  every  divorce  must  be  granted 
by  special  enactment.     The   location  of  a    county-seat 
was  contested  for  years  in  both  Houses.     The  practice  of 
"log  rolling"  was    common.      The  passage  of  an    act 
extending   a  wagon  road  or  dissolving    a  marriage  tie 
often  meant  far  more  than  it  seemed,  for  it  secured  the 
triumph  or  defeat  of  other  measures  of  great  importance. 
It  has  been  said   that  the  struggle   between   Centerville 
and  Salisbury,  rival  contestants    for  the   county-seat  of 
Wayne  county,  elected  United  States  Senators,  formed 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  25 

new  counties,  and  decided  much  of  the  important  legis 
lation  in  the  preceding  administration. 

For  eleven  years,  steamboats  had  floated  upon  the 
Ohio,  affording  convenient  transportation  from  our  south 
ern  shore  to  the  town  of  Pittsburg.  Rafts  of  merchan 
dise  were  conveyed  down  the  stream  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  thence  to  St.  Louis  or  New  Orleans.  The  water 
ways  were  the  main  avenues  of  travel  and  trade,  and 
these  led  only  to  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Virgin'a  and  the 
Southwest.  The  Great  Lakes  were  not  utilized,  since 
they  led  only  to  the  wilds  of  Western  New  York.  There 
was  no  direct  connection  with  New  England  or  the  pop 
ulous  region  of  the  Hudson.  All  this  was  destined  to  be 
changed  by  the  Erie  Canal,  begun  in  1817  and  now  nearly- 
finished.  This  admirable  project  of  Governor  Clinton, 
long  ridiculed  by  his  opponents  as  "  Clinton's  Big  Ditch," 
was  now  the  subject  of  universal  admiration.  It  promised 
an  easy  and  cheap  transportation  from  New  York  Bay  to 
the  log  walls  of  Fort  Dearborn,  where  the  agents  of  Astor 
were  trafficking  with  the  natives  for  furs.  As  Southern 
Indiana  was  peopled  chiefly  by  Virginians,  Pennsylva- 
nians  and  Kentuckians,  it  promised  that  Northern  In 
diana  should  be  settled  by  New  Yorkers  and  New  Eng- 
landers.  The  great  artificial  river,  extending  nearly 
four  hundred  miles,  from  the  Hudson  at  Albany  to 
Lake  Erie  at  Buffalo,  was  constructed  exclusively  by  the 
State  of  New  York,  though  destined  to  be  from  the  first 
of  inestimable  value  to  the  whole  nation. 

But  its  triumph,  already  forseen,  was  mischievous  in 
its  influence  upon  other  States.  There  was  a  clamor  for 
canals  in  the  far  West,  which  ultimately  resulted  in  im 
practicable  and  ruinous  schemes  of  State  improvements. 
In  the  General  Assemblies  of  Indiana  and  Illinois  a 
project  for  the  improvement  of  the  rapids  in  the  Wabash 
by  the  co-operation  of  the  two  States  had  been  discussed 
for  a  year.  From  the  upper  Wabash  to  the  Maumee,. 


26  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENPRICKS. 

transportation  could  be  conducted  only  by  means  of 
-portages,  the  water  route  being  interrupted  by  a  vexa 
tious  "carrying"  by  land;  but  even  this  route  could 
become  available  only  by  securing  a  safe  passage  of  the 
rapids  below,  and  now  the  project  of  constructing  a  canal 
to  connect  the  two  rivers  was  conceived  by  bold  specu 
lators  and  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  two  States. 
The  need  of  wagon  roads  was  keenly  felt,  and  the  Fed 
eral  Government  was  urged  to  continue  the  great  national 
road,  so  as  to  connect  the  capitals  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Illinois.  By  the  act  of  admission,  the  Congress  had  set 
apart  five  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds  of  the  public  lands 
in  Indiana  which  should  be  sold  after  the  following  ist 
of  December,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  roads  and 
canals.  Three-fifths  of  this  amount  was  to  be  controlled 
by  the  General  Assembly,  and  expended  within  the 
State.  The  remainder  was  to  be  applied  under  congres 
sional  direction  to  the  building  of  a  road  leading  to  In 
diana.  It  was  too  early  to  expect  much  of  the  counties 
in  the  way  of  road-making.  The  increase  in  the  taxable 
land  in  1822  was  456,159  acres.  Land  was  held  at  two 
dollars  per  acre.  * 

The  educational  condition  was  extremely  disheartening. 
The  Congress  of  the  old  Confederation  had  in  1785 
granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  each  congressional  township 
the  sixteenth  section  of  land,  as  an  endowment  of  public 
education.  The  common  school  lands  of  the  State  were 
estimated  at  680,207  acres,  supposed  to  be  worth,  in  the 
aggregate,  $1,260,414.  But  they  were  wholly  unavail 
able  as  a  means  of  revenue.  By  joint  resolution  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  182 1 ,  a  committee  of  seven  had  been 
appointed  to  draft  a  general  school  law  for  the  State,  but 
had  not  yet  reported,  although  the  limit  of  time  had  long 
since  expired. 

The  first  message  of  the  new  Governor  was  awaited 
with  deep  interest.  It  was  an  able  paper,  full  of  encour- 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  27 

agement  to  the  despondent  and  of  caution  to  the  over  san 
guine,  and  contained  valuable  suggestions  of  practical 
measures.  It  referred  to  the  unsettled  condition  of  mon 
etary  matters  and  the  attendant  embarrassment  of  the 
government  and  of  individuals,  but  congratulated  the 
people  upon  "  the  agricultural  and  social  happiness  oi 
the  State  ;"  that  the  productions  of  the  soil  had  never  been 
more  abundant,  and  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life 
were  secured  to  all ;  that  the  population  was  growing,  as 
immigration  had  begun  to  revive  ;  that  the  people,  de 
pending  mostly  upon  agricultural  and  home  products, 
were  enjoying  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity.  On  the  sub 
ject  of  internal  improvements,  it  said  : 

"  We  ought  to  leave  free  and  untrammeled,  as  far  as 
we  can,  our  resources,  for  improvement  and  for  the  pur 
poses  which  the  interests  of  the  State  may  hereafter 
require — if  not  at  our  hands,  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
succeed  us.  Let  us  not  lose  sight  of  those  great  objects 
to  which  the  means  of  the  State  should  at  some  future 
day  be  devoted — the  navigation  of  the  falls  of  the  Ohio, 
the  improvement  of  the  Wabash  and  White  rivers  and 
other  streams,  and  the  construction  of  the  national  and 
other  roads  through  the  State." 

The  Assembly  was  thus  cautioned  to  practice  econ 
omy,  to  avoid  haste  in  the  matter  of  public  works,  and  to 
keep  in  view  for  thought  and  discussion  a  few  enter 
prises  important  to  growth  and  industry.  Among  tin- 
earlier  measures  approved  by  Governor  Hendricks  were 
bills  creating  the  counties  of  Montgomery,  Johnson,  Mad 
ison,  and  Hamilton.  On  the  nth  of  January,  1823  was 
enacted  a  measure  for  financial  relief,  which  for  its  mod 
esty  will  provoke  a  smile,  though  it  proved  an  enactment 
of  excellent  wisdom.  It  authorized  the  State  Treasurer 
to  re-issue  fifteen  thousand  dollars  of  six-per  cent,  treas 
ury  notes,  receivable  for  taxes  and  officers'  fees,  and 
enacted  penalties  for  counterfeiting  them.  At  the  same 


28  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

time  two  extensive  State  roads  were  determined  upon, 
one  to  extend  from  Brookville  through  Connersville  and 
Centerville  to  Fort  Wayne,  the  other  to  pass  from  Terre 
Haute  through  the  wilderness  of  the  Wabash  to  the  same 
terminus.  Nineteen  other  roads  of  lesser  importance 
were  decreed.  The  General  Assembly  set  an  example  of 
economy,  and  completed  its  work  with  commendable 
dispatch.  The  entire  expenses  of  the  session  amounted 
to  but  $8,500,  while  the  Executive  Department  was  allowed 
for  the  year  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The 
Governor  was  authorized  to  draw  out  the  State's  deposit 
of  five  thousand  dollars  from  the  Bank  of  Vincennes  and 
assume  charge  of  it,  lending  it  or  investing  it  in  property 
for  the  State,  at  discretion — the  idea  being  that  at  such 
a  time  a  government  had  no  right  to  hoard  money.  The 
revenue  of  the  State  for  this  year  was  $36,010.74,  the 
taxable  land  was  about  3,000,000  acres. 

At  the  next  session  the  new  county  of  Allen  was  formed, 
December  17,  1823,  aud  three  days  later  the  Governor 
signed  with  pardonable  pride  the  bill  establishing  a 
new  county  which  bears  in  his  honor  the  name  of 
Hendricks.  Another  bill  which  at  that  time  received 
his  signature  was  the  charter  of  a  seminary  at  Aurora, 
in  Dearborn  county,  organized  through  the  efforts  of 
James  Walker,  Jesse  Holman,  and  a  few  other  men  of 
enterprise  and  influence.  An  attempt  to  organize  educa 
tion  was  made  in  the  '*  act  to  incorporate  congressional 
townships,  and  providing  for  public  schools  therein,"  but 
as  for  years  there  were  no  State  revenues  for  distribution, 
the  schools  could  not  be  free. 

A  subject  of  absorbing  interest  was  the  establishment 
of  a  new  capital.  Cory  don  had  been  adopted  only  for 
a  term  of  years.  The  Government,  by  the  enabling  act 
of  1816,  agreed  to  donate  to  the  State  four  sections  of 
land  at  whatever  point  might  be  preferred,  for  a  town 
plat.  Thus  the  State,  rather  than  an  individual  or  com- 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  29 

pany,  was  to  receive  the  profits  arising  from  the  sale  of 
lots.  The  new  capital  had  been  located  in  the  preceding 
administration,  and,  on  the  suggestion  of  Judge  Sullivan, 
called  Indianapolis.  It  was  in  the  geographical  center 
of  the  State,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  wilderness.  It  is 
advantageous  in  many  ways  to  plan  in  advance  a  town 
in  a  comprehensive  plat,  before  a  settlement  forms  without 
order  or  general  design.  Engineer  Ralston,  who  had 
assisted  to  lay  out  the  city  of  Washington,  made  the  most 
of  his  opportunity.  To  him  we  owe  the  central  circle, 
the  great  diagonal  avenues,  and  the  boulevard  of  Wash 
ington  street.  All  through  the  administration  of  Governor 
Hendricks  the  work  of  preparation  went  on  at  Indiana 
polis,  and  its  successful  outcome  was  due  largely  to  his 
prudent  and  thoughtful  care. 

Corydon  had  been  deemed  an  isolated  place  because  it 
was  thirteen  miles  distant  from  the  river.  Indianapolis 
was  remote  indeed — one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  the 
wilderness,  due  north  from  the  old  capital.  It  was 
accessible  only  through  terrible  roads,  afforded  but  few 
comforts,  and  seemed  all  the  time  to  be  suffering  from  a 
pestilence.  Worse  than  all,  the  isolation  of  the  settle 
ment  was  such  that  only  tardy  aid  could  be  rendered  in 
case  of  an  attack  from  the  Seneca  Indians  to  the  north 
ward.  It  was  hoped,  however,  that  there  would  be 
nothing  to  invite  hostilities.  This  hope  was  doomed  to 
disappointment.  Fiendish  outrages  of  border  ruffians 
were  perpetrated  in  1824  upon  a  peaceable  and  friendly 
tribe,  which  called  loudly  for  vengeance  and  excited 
wide-spread  terror  throughout  the  new  settlements  in 
central  Indiana.  Governor  Hendricks  was  much  dis 
turbed  for  the  peace  of  the  frontier,  and  was  determined 
that  justice  should  be  done.  Never  was  a  distressing 
State  difficulty  more  admirably  managed.  One  of  the 
murderers  escaped,  it  is  true,  but  through  no  fault  of  the 
officers  pursuing.  Others  were  executed  in  the  following 


30  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

winter,  this  instance  being  the  first  in  American  history 
where  a  white  man  was  judicially  put  to  death  for  the 
murder  of  a  savage.  The  spirit  of  justice  evinced  by  the 
citizens  and  officers  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  the 
Indians,  who  caused  no  further  alarm. 

The  legislation  of  the  session  of  1823-4  was  rendered 
more  memorable  by  the  adoption  of  a  complete  revision 
of  the  statutes  of  the  State,  made  by  Benjamin  Parke,  to- 
whom  the  work  had  been  entrusted  at  the  preceding  ses 
sion.  Among  the  joint  resolutions  passed  was  one  favor 
ing  a  Federal  tariff  which  should  encourage  the  home 
production  of  staples  hitherto  furnished  mostly  by  Europe, 
and  another  the  stock  request  to  Congress  for  the  west 
ward  extension  of  the  national  road.  A  third  referred  to 
the  remarkable  message  of  President  Monroe,  which  had 
reached  the  village  some  weeks  before. 

The  particular  part  of  the  message  which  most  occu 
pied  attention  related  not  to  State  or  even  national  affairs, 
but  to  matters  of  international  moment.  That  an  Indiana 
Legislature  should  occupy  itself  with  the  settlement  of  the 
Eastern  Question  will  not  seem  strange  when  we  remem 
ber  the  time  and  the  circumstances.  The  year  1823  had 
been  one  of  world-wide  excitement.  A  republic  was 
reestablished  in  Mexico,  on  the  ruins  of  Iturbide's  brief 
empire.  South  America  was  ablaze  with  revolution.  Byron 
was  aiding  the  Greeks  against  the  Turks.  Our  Republic 
was  universally  called  a  confederacy,  and  the  States  were 
designated  as  sovereign.  It  long  continued  customary 
for  Governors  to  discuss  in  their  messages  matters  strictly 
national  or  international,  and  for  legislatures  to  throw  the 
moral  weight  of  independent  States  for  or  against  meas 
ures  far  remote  from  their  sphere.  Thus  it  was  that  the 
following  joint  resolutions  came  to  be  : 

Resolved,  That  the  General  Assembly  of  Indiana,  on 
the  eve  of  closing  their  legislative  labors,  are  impelled 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  ,  31 

by  the  interesting  posture  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  in  reference  to  the  powers  of  Europe,  to  fix 
their  attention  for  a  moment  upon  the  late  message  of  the 
President,  addressed  to  Congress  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  session.  It  is  with  no  ordinary  satisfaction  that 
we  recognize  in  the  public  declarations  of  our  venerable 
Chief  Magistrate  the  immortal  principles  of  1776.  It  is 
impossible  for  a  free  people  to  view  with  indifference  the 
rise  and  progress  or  the  overthrow  and  extinction  of  those 
principles  which  they  do  and  must  ever  regard  as  the 
main  pillars  of  individual  and  national  happiness.  The 
action  and  reaction  of  tyranny  throughout  the  world 
must  ever  produce  a  corresponding  vibration  in  the 
hearts  of  freemen.  In  the  language  of  the  Father  of  our 
Country,  "  Our  anxious  recollections,  our  sympathetic 
feelings,  and  our  best  wishes  are  irresistibly  excited 
whensoever,  in  any  country,  we  see  an  oppressed  people 
unfurl  the  banners  of  freedom."  Under  these  generous 
impulses  we  have  witnessed  the  resistance  of  our  brethren 
of  South  America  to  the  merciless  tyranny  of  Spain,  and 
have  seen  the  eagle  of  liberty  expand  his  wings  over  a 
sister  continent.  With  feelings  congenial  to  these,  but 
heightened  by  the  enthusiasm  of  classic  associations,  we 
have  more  recently  beheld  the  sons  of  Greece  bursting 
the  chains  of  Turkish  despotism  and  struggling  for  the 
the  rights  and  glory  of  their  ancestors.  We  trust  that 
our  undisguised  satisfaction  at  these  reiterated  triumphs 
of  the  rights  of  man  will  ever  be  regarded  in  Europe, 
and  felt  by  ourselves,  as  an  unerring  criterion  of  our 
determination  to  defend  the  same  rights,  whenever 
assailed. 

Then  followed  resolutions  approving  the  President's 
message,  and  expressing  sympathy  for  Greece.  Finally 
it  was 

Resolved,    That  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  be  re- 


32  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

quested  to  submit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  with  the 
preamble,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  to 
each  of  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  Lieutenant-Governor  RatlirT 
Boon  tendered  his  resignation,  in  order  to  become  a  can 
didate  for  Congress  in  the  First  District— there  were  now 
three— and  James  Brown  Ray  was  elected  President  of 
the  Senate  in  his  place. 

It  was  not  without  deep  regret  among  the  people  of  the 
town  that  Corydon  entered  upon  its  last  year  as  the  capi 
tal,  and  in  that  regret  the  members  of  the  Assembly  and 
the  State  officials  shared,  for  the  place  possessed  many 
attractions.     The  executive  residence  and  its  present  in 
mates  were  especially  dear  to  all.   The  Governor  excelled 
as  a  host,  and  was  during  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly 
the  recipient  of  frequent  visits    from  the  Senators  and 
members,  upon  whom   he    exercised  a  strong   influence 
personally  and  politically,  directing  much  of  the  legisla 
tion  in  which  they  were  engaged.    And  in  the  long,  quiet 
months  between  the  sessions,  his  house  was  the  center  of 
life  in  the  quiet  town.     Seated  at  evening  upon  the  lawn 
among  his  friends,  looking  out  upon  the  hills  that  hedged 
them   round   about,  his  mind  was    not  restricted  to  the 
range  of  outward  vision  or  the  limits  of  the  State.     Many 
and  interesting  were  his  reminiscences  of  Congress  and  of 
Washington,  and   thorough  was  his   acquaintance  with 
public  affairs.    The  soundness  of  his  judgment,  the  suavity 
of  his  manners,  and  his  unimpeachable  integrity  impressed 
all  who  met  him,  and  are  the  salient  traits  "ascribed  to 
him  by  the  men  of  the  elder  day.     No  portrait  remains 
to  show  us  his  features  upon  the  walls  of  the  Capitol, 
where  the  Governors  of  Indiana  look  down  from  their 
easy  chairs,  but  his  image  lingered  long  in  the  memories 
of  the  people,— the  erect,  well  knit  figure,  the  auburn 
hair,  the  genial,  ruddy  face  and  kindly  eye. 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HEXDRICKS.  33 

The  removal  of  the  capital  was  effected  in  November. 
Samuel  Merrill,  the  Treasurer  of  State,  stored  in  a  heavy 
wagon  the  documents  of  the  offices  and  the  moneys  and 
accounts  of  his  own  department,  and  set  out  with  a  caval 
cade  of  officers  and  citizens  through  the  wilderness.  It 
was  impossible  to  advance  at  a  higher  rate  of  speed  thai 
twelve  or  thirteen  miles  a  day.  For  ten  nights  the  com 
pany  encamped  upon  the  route,  when  the  somber  forest 
was  illuminated  with  cheery  fires,  and  the  voices  of  men 
mingled  with  the  scream  of  wild  birds  and  the  howl  of 
wolves.  Anon  the  ring  of  the  musket  or  the  crack  of  the 
rifle  told  of  the  sportsman's  shot,  and  the  odor  of  roasting 
game  gave  relish  to  a  supper  among  the  trees. 

Indiarjapolis  was  reached  without  accident,  and  the 
precious  freight  of  Mr.  Merrill's  wagon  was  transferred 
to  the  new  office — a  small  brick  building  on  the  site  of 
the  present  treasury  (1886),  which  was  to  serve  for  both 
residence  and  office.  The  village  contained  rather  more 
than  six  hundred  people,  few  yet  possessing  many  of  the 
comforts  of  life,  but  all  enthusiastic  believers  in  the  future 
of  the  place.  Work  of  all  kinds  was  actively  driven,  in 
order  that  the  town  might  be  made  ready  for  the  coming 
of  the  legislators.  Streets  were  opened  by  felling  the 
timber,  though  stumps  were  generally  allowed  to  remain, 
to  the  peril  of  wagon  transportation.  Taverns  were  ex 
tended  and  provisioned.  The  court  house  was  rushed  on 
to  completion.  This  was  a  structure  of  some  pretensions 
to  architectural  merit,  and  cost  the  sum  of  $14,000. 

The  General  Assembly  convened  at  the  court  house  on 
the  loth  day  of  January,  1825,  in  accordance  with  the  orig 
inal  plan.  The  Senate  occupied  the  upper,  and  the  House 
the  lower  story.  Mr.  Ray  was  again  elected  President 
of  the  Senate.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Corydon  was 
deemed  too  far  from  the  river  for  comfort,  the  effect  of  the 
isolation  of  Indianapolis  can  be  appreciated.  In  the  pre- 
3 


34  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

ceding  year  a  large  boat,  called  The  Dandy,  had  floated 
to  the  town  on  the  high  waters  of  a  freshet,  bringing  a 
store  of  salt  and  whisky,  but  only  on  exceptional  occa 
sions  was  the  river  of  any  use  for  transportation.  Prices 
were  high,  and  privations  great.  The  only  hope  for  the 
place  was  in  the  extension  of  the  national  road. 

The  session  was  a  busy  one.  Union  and  Clay  counties 
were  created,  the  State  library  was  established,  the  sys 
tem  of  circuit  courts  was  wrought  out,  the  revenue  laws- 
were  revised  and  extended.  The  Governor  was  author 
ized  to  appoint  pilots  for  the  river  craft  at  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio,  for  it  was  not  until  many  years  later  that  the 
Federal  Government  assumed  exclusive  control  of  navi 
gable  streams.  Roads  were  extended,  changed,  or  newly 
created.  A  moderate  plan  of  river  improvements  was 
commenced ;  local  matters  concerning  the  capital  re 
ceived  a  large  share  of  attention. 

The  joint  resolutions  of  the  Assembly  are  of  peculiar 
interest.  One  of  these  requests  the  Federal  Government 
to  remove  the  Land  Office,  at  Brookville,  to  the  new  cap 
ital.  A  second  relates  to  the  visit  of  General  LaFayette, 
and  contains  these  words  :  "  The  General  Assembly  hail 
with  inexpressible  pleasure  the  prospect  of  this  auspicious- 
visit.  They  can  not,  they  are  aware,  receive  their  bene 
factor  in  the  costly  abodes  of  magnificence  and  taste,  nor 
vie  with  their  sister  States  in  the  embellishments  of  a 
hospitality  more  brilliant  than  it  is  theirs  to  offer,  yet  not 
more  sincere.  But  they  can  and  do,  in  common  with 
the  whole  American  people,  welcome  him  to  a  home  in 
their  hearts."  The  resolutions  lauded  the  hero  to  the 
skies,  and  invited  him  to  visit  Indianapolis  or  some 
point  on  the  Ohio,  and  placed  the  whole  matter  of  his 
entertainment  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  with  per 
mission  to  draw  on  the  State  treasury  for  expenses  to  an 
unlimited  amount.  Two  of  the  joint  resolutions  bore  on 
Federal  matters,  and  show  clearly  the  feeling  of  Northern 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    IIENDRICKS.  35 

Democrats  (who  constituted  the  legislative  majority)  as 
well  as  of  the  Adams  men,  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
The  first  protests  against  amending  the  Federal  Consti 
tution  in  the  manner  proposed  by  Georgia  in  1823.  The 
second,  referring  to  a  proposition  of  the  Legislature  of 
Ohio,  contains  the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  General  Assembly 
a  system  of  foreign  colonization,  with  correspondent 
measures,  might  be  adopted,  that  would  in  due  time  effect 
the  entire  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  our  country, 
without  any  violation  of  the  national  compact  or  infringe 
ment  of  the  rights  of  individuals,  by  the  passage  of  a 
law  by  the  General  Government  (with  the  consent  of  the 
slave-holding  States),  which  should  provide  that  all  chil 
dren  of  persons  now  held  in  slavery,  born  afte**  the  pas 
sage  of  such  law,  should  be  free  at  the  age  of  21  years, 
being  supported  during  their  minority  by  the  persons 
claiming  the  services  of  the  parents,  providing  they  then 
consent  to  be  transported  to  the  intended  place  of  coloni 
zation. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  that  such  a  system  should 
be  predicated  upon  the  principle  that  the  evil  of  slavery 
is  a  national  one,  and  that  the  people  and  the  States  of 
this  Union  ought  mutually  to  participate  in  the  duties  and 
burdens  of  removing  it.  Therefore, 

Resolved,  By  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,  that  we  do  approve  of  and  cordially  concur  in 
the  aforesaid  resolutions  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  that 
His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  be  requested  to  communi 
cate  the  same  to  the  Executives  of  each  of  the  several 
States  in  the  Union  and  each  of  our  Senators  and  Rep 
resentatives  in  Congress,  requesting  their  co-operation  in 
all  national  measures  to  effect  the  grand  object  therein 
embraced. 

Doubtless  the  resolutions  referring  to  national  matters 


36  GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS. 

were  largely  inspired  by  the  Governor.  The  members 
looked  to  him  for  guidance,  and  his  influence  was  un 
measured.  His  correspondence  was  extensive.  Admir 
ably  prepared  letters  went  forth  from  the  Governor's 
table  to  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  to  Senators  and 
Congressmen,  to  the  Governors  of  other  States,  and 
sometimes  even  to  men  of  note  in  Europe.  Not  content 
was  he  to  circumscribe  his  influence  by  State  boundaries. 
As  the  spokesman  of  Indiana,  he  brought  his  common 
wealth  up  to  its  fullest  measure  of  influence  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Republic  and  of  the  world.  The  duty  imposed  on 
him  by  the  "  entire  emancipation  "  resolution  was  grate 
ful  to  his  feelings  as  an  earnest  advocate  of  universal 
freedom,  and  no  man  in  any  State  could  have  been 
chosen  who  would  perform  that  duty  more  delicately, 
yet  forcibly.  One  of  the  interesting  events  of  the  session 
was  the  election  of  a  successor  to  Waller  Taylor  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  Governor  Hendricks  was  the 
popular  choice.  In  Congress  he  had  given  his  State 
importance  out  of  all  proportion  to  her  rank.  His  Guber 
natorial  term,  yet  unfinished,  had  endeared  him  still  more 
to  the  people.  He  had  taken  the  chair  in  a  time  of  de 
pression  and  gloom.  He  had  cheered  and  wisely  coun 
seled  the  people,  and  had  guided  the  destinies  of  the  young 
State  with  a  prudent  hand.  He  was  elected  almost 
without  opposition.  On  the  I2th  of  February  he  an 
nounced  his  resignation  in  the  following  letter : 

"  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  SENATE:  Permit  me  to  inform 
you  that  I  have  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
my  resignation  as  Governor,  and  to  assure  you  of  the 
great  degree  of  gratitude  which,  under  all  circumstances, 
I  must  ever  feel  for  the  many  signal  instances  of  confi 
dence  reposed  and  honor  conferred  by  the  people  and 
Legislature  of  the  State.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with 
the  greatest  respect,  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  HENDRICKS." 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  37 

In  the  Senate  Governor  Hcndricks  won  high  distinc 
tion.  He  served  through  three  Presidential  terms — that 
of  the  younger  Adams  and  those  of  Andrew  Jackson. 
He  favored  an  incidentally  protective  tariff,  a  judicious 
and  economical  system  of  public  improvements,  consti 
tutional  aid  to  education  by  means  of  land  grants,  and 
all  legitimate  aid  to  the  growth  of  freedom.  He  sus 
tained  the  vigorous  foreign  policy  of  Jackson,  which  won 
for  the  United  States  a  name  throughout  the  world  ;  and 
he  fully  supported  that  great  statesman  in  his  strong 
repression  of  nullification  proceedings  and  his  vindica 
tion  of  the  constitutional  powers  and  independence  of  the 
Executive.  In  1836,  when  extreme  anti-slavery  petitions 
were  poured  in  upon  Congress,  and  the  reasonable  and 
unreasonable  were  alike  unceremoniously  rejected,  he 
stood  bravely  with  a  small  handful,  of  all  the  Senate,  in 
opposition  to  the  rejection  of  a  prayer  of  the  Friends  of 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  for  the  abolition  of  the 
slave  trade  in  the  Federal  District  of  Columbia.  Like 
wise,  he  exhibited  moral  courage  in  opposing  the  exclu 
sion  of  anti-slavery  publications  from  Southern  mails. 
At  the  end  of  his  second  term — in  1837 — tne  Whigs 
were  in  the  majority  in  the  Legislature ;  the  Senator 
was  succeeded  by  O.  H.  Smith,  and  retired  to  private 
life  at  Madison,  where  he  busied  himself  with  the  cares 
of  a  large  estate  until  his  death,  in  1850.  Senator 
Smith  says  of  him  :  "  Governor  Hendricks  was  my  early 
friend.  He  gave  me  the  first  office  I  ever  held  in  the 
State  ;  and  although  I  was  elected  over  him,  in  1836,  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  we  were  personal  friends 
till  he  died.  The  Governor,  in  person,  was  large  and 
commanding.  His  manners  were  very  popular.  He  had 
a  smile  on  his  face  and  a  warm  shake  of  the  hand  for  all 
he  met.  He  was  not  of  the  very  first  order  of  talent,  but 
he  made  all  up  by  his  plain,  practical  good  sense.  He 
never  attempted  to  speak  upon  subjects  he  did  not  under- 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HEXDRICKS. 

stand.  He  made  a  good  Governor  and  stood  well  as  a 
Senator." 

Mr.  William  Wesley  Woollen,  in  an  extended  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  the  departed  statesman,  remarks  : 
"  William  Hendricks  had  as  much  to  do  with  laying  the 
foundations  of  this  great  State  and  commencing  its  super 
structure  as  any  other  man,  excepting  Jonathan  Jennings 
only.  *  *  He  was  talented  and  energetic,  and  he 
won." 

Mrs.  Hendricks  still  survives.  Recently  she  removed 
from  her  old  home  in  Madison  to  Kansas  City,  to  reside 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  E.  P.  Weyer,  but  still  more 
recently  returned  to  her  old  home.  She  is  one  of  a 
remarkable  family.  Her  father,  Col.  John  Paul,  was  the 
founder  of  the  city  of  Madison.  Her  brother  was  a  prom 
inent  man  of  former  times  in  that  city.  Her  sister  was 
the  mother  of  Dr.  S.  M.  Goode  and  Hon.  John  R.  Cravens. 
Her  cousin,  and  sister  by  adoption,  was  the  mother  of  the 
Serings — S.  B.,  James  and  John — and  of  Mrs.  Joseph  G. 
Marshall,  Mrs.  James  H.  Cunningham,  Mrs.  Jefferson 
Goodman,  Mrs.  Dr.  George  Cross  and  Mrs.  William 
son  Wright.  Two  of  her  sons  won  fame  in  the  war,  and 
gave  up  their  lives  for  their  country.  The  Madison 
Courier  of  January  4,  1886  contains  the  following  men 
tion  of  the  venerable  and  illustrious  lady  : 

"  The  Territory  of  Indiana  was  the  home  of  wild  beasts 
and  savage  men,  when  she  came  here.  The  Pigeon  Roost 
massacre,  the  great  league  of  Tecumseh,  and  the  battles 
of  Tippecanoe  and  the  Thames  were  consummated  during 
the  period  of  her  intelligent  observation.  *  *  *  All  of 
Indiana's  proud,  pushing,  panoramic  progress  has  passed 
in  rapid  succession  before  her  vision.  She  was  born  in 
the  last  year  of  Washington's  lifetime,  and  has  been, 
therefore,  a  contemporary  of  every  President  of  the  United 
States.  In  her  young  wife-hood  she  twice  rode  to  Wash 
ington  City  on  horse-back  from  Madison,  accompanied 


GOVERNOR    WILLIAM    HENDRICKS.  39 

by  her  husband,  who  sat  as  Congressman  and  Senator  in 
the  administrations  of  Monroe,  Adams  and  Jackson.  A 
third  time  the  trip  was  made  in  a  stage-coach,  but  that 
time  the  journey  was  not  relished,  the  coach  upsetting 
twice.  Mrs.  Hendricks  speaks  enthusiastically  of  her 
horse-back  journeys.  The  animal  she  rode  was  as  easy 
as  a  rocking  chair.  One  time  the  trip  was  made  in  the 
Christmas  holidays,  and  the  mountains  were  crossed  in 
the  first  days  of  January.  The  snow  lay  two  and  a  half 
feet  deep  on  the  level ;  but  the  road  was  nicely  beaten 
down  by  the  great  travel  upon  it,  and  no  one  suffered  from 
the  cold  who  traveled  on  horse-back.  Mrs.  Hendricks 
retains  excellent  possession  of  her  faculties,  and  has 
superintended  the  management  of  her  household  to  the 
last.  *  *  The  only  remaining  member  of  the  once 
numerous  Hendricks  family  left  in  the  city  is  William 
Parker  Hendricks." 


CHAPTER   II. 

MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

During  the  seventeenth  century,  and  especially  in  its 
closing  years,  the  Netherlands  were  an  asylum  of  refuge 
for  the  victims  of  religious  persecution  in  Europe.  There 
it  was  that  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  America  long  sojourned, 
and  from  the  port  of  Delft-Haven  the  historic  Mayflower 
sped  upon  its  way. 

A  pathetic  story  is  told,  the  antiquarians  say,  in  the 
port  records  of  the  old  Dutch  sea-board,  of  the  Revoca 
tion  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  Here  a  faithful  maid  is 
landed,  bearing  motherless,  fatherless  babes.  There  is 
recorded  the  arrival  of  a  young  child,  separated  in  the 
terror  of  flight  from  all  kindred.  Then  appears  the  name 
of  a  young  bride,  torn  like  Evangeline  from  her  husband. 
And  thus,  even  at  this  late  day,  removed  as  we  are  by 
centuries  from  the  scene,  there  is  a  pang  connected  with 
every  record  of  those  old  debarkations. 

The  assimilating  powers  of  the  Dutch  were  strong; 
and  as  now  in  America,  the  refugees  and  immigrants 
soon  became  nationalized.  Indeed,  it  was  to  prevent 
this  in  their  own  case  that  the  Pilgrims  sailed  to  America. 
The  English,  Scotch,  Irish  and  French  who  remained 
were  in  a  few  years  accounted  Netherlanders  in  fact. 
Thus  it  happens  that  many  a  family  of  Dutch  name  and 
ancestry  is  now  found  to  bear  upon  its  old  armorial 
escutcheon  the  thistle,  the  plumes,  the  tartan  buckle 
and  the  blue  bells  of  Scotland,  the  harp  of  Erin,  or 
other  devices  equally  characteristic  and  belonging  to 

(40) 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS.  41 

the  people  of  England  and  France.      From   Protestant 
and  Catholic  persecutions  alike,  the  refugees  fled. 

From  an  old  family  of  Huguenots  the  Hendrickses  are 
descended.  From  France  to  the  Low  Countries,  and 
thence  in  the  character  of  Hollanders  to  the  Province  of 
New  Jersey  in  America,  they  migrated.  Later,  but 
before  the  Revolution,  they  settled  among  the  Germans 
of  Ligonier  Valley,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  early  history  of  that  commonwealth  the  name  is 
frequently  found.  In  1749  Tobias  Hendricks  was  col 
lector  of  taxes  for  East  Pennsboro'  Township,  in  Cum 
berland  county.  In  1750  Abraham  Hendricks  appears 
on  the  rolls  of  the  freemen  of  the  commonwealth.  In 
1754  and  1756  Tobias  Hendricks  petitioned  the  Gover 
nor  on  matters  relating  to  Indian  troubles.  In  1768  the 
purchase  of  western  lands  from  the  Indians  led  to  the 
establishment  of  new  settlements  west  of  the  Alleghenies. 
Five  years  later  Westmoreland  county  was  organized. 
Thomas  and  Abraham  Hendricks  were  among  its  earliest 
settlers.  Patents  of  land  were  confirmed  to  the  latter  in 
1793  and  1794.  Here  they  had  built  a  mill  some  years 
before,  and  had  given  their  name  to  Hendricks's  Run,  a 
dashing  rivulet  which  flows  into  the  Conemaugh  and 
thence  into  the  Allegheny. 

Abraham  Hendricks  was  a  man  of  high  character 
and  wide  influence.  In  1792  he  was  chosen  to  the  Legis 
lature.  Philadelphia  was  then  the  capital  of  the  United 
States,  and  Pennsylvania  wielded  a  strong  power  in  the 
young  Republic.  As  the  nation  was  new,  the  work  of 
establishing  it  upon  a  firm  foundation  was  one  which 
appealed  to  all  statesmanly  men.  The  career  of  Abraham 
Hendricks  in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  was  emi 
nently  honorable.  He  was  reelected  in  1793,  again  in 
1796,  and  again  in  1797,  and  achieved  prominence  in 
each  session  for  his  vigorous  policy  and  sound  judgment. 
He  fully  sustained  the  Government  in  its  repression  of  the 


42  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

Whisky  Insurrection  in  his  State  in  1794.  He  approved 
the  wise  plan  of  government  adopted  for  the  new  Ter 
ritory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio. 

Slavery  had  been  abolished  in  his  State  a  few  years 
before  he  entered  upon  his  public  services,  and  he  looked 
forward  to  its  speedy  abolition  in  the  adjoining  State  of 
Maryland.  There  was  no  sectional  division  of  the  coun 
try  then,  and  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  had  no  more  sig 
nificance  than  any  other  State  boundary.  Americans 
were  they  all  and  brothers,  who  lived  on  either  side. 
Abraham  Hendricks  was  a  man  of  strong  religious  faith, 
as  his  ancestors  had  been  before  him.  He  was  a  man  of 
clear  and  firm  political  convictions.  Hospitable  in  his 
home,  given  much  to  thought,  to  men>and  to  books,  he 
impressed  himself  deeply  upon  his  community,  and  was 
revered  as  one  of  the  strong  pillars  of  the  society  of  West 
moreland.  His  wife  was  of  an  old  Scottish  family — the 
Jamiesons — and  possessed  the  fair  features  and  strong 
character  which  belong  to  her  race.  Five  sons  grew  to 
manhood  in  the  old  home  among  the  mountains,  all  of 
whom  eventually  removed  to  Indiana.  The  subsequent 
career  of  the  first  of  these  has  been  related  in  the  preced 
ing  chapter. 

Boy  life  in  the  Keystone  State  in  the  last  century  was 
hardy  and  vigorous.  The  inhabitants  were  possessed  of 
an  indomitable  will  in  their  struggle  for  a  home  and  for 
wealth  and  education.  Much  of  their  lives  was  passed  in 
the  open  air.  The  forests  were  felled.  Wild  beasts  were 
hunted  out  of  existence.  Houses  and  barns  were  strongly 
built,  and  on  a  generous  scale.  Each  settler  was  largely 
independent  of  others.  He  made  his  own  farm  tools, 
often  manufactured  leather  in  tan  yards  of  his  own,  and 
was  at  times  harness  maker,  blacksmith  and  carpenter. 

John  Hendricks  was  the  youngest  son  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  legislator,  and  was  the  last  to  leave  home.  In 
youth  he  was  as  fond  of  books  as  of  his  hunting  and  his 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS.  43 

games  ;  and  while  he  did  not,  like  his  brother  William, 
complete  a  college  course,  he  acquired  a  good  education. 
He  mingled  much  in  society,  and  met  at  his  father's 
house  many  persons  of  eminence  in  church  and  State 
affairs.  In  his  young  manhood,  while  a  guest  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Black,  a  noted  Presbyterian  divine  at  Pittsburg,  he 
first  met  Miss  Jane  Thomson,  also  a  guest  of  the  pastor. 
She  was  a  captivating  maiden,  with  the  light,  wavy  hair 
and  blue  eyes  of  the  Scotch — such  an  one  as  inspired  the 
impassioned  song  of  Annie  Lawrie. 

Jane  Thomson  possessed  more  than  beauty.  The 
strong  sense  of  duty,  the  earnest  piety,  the  high  char 
acter  of  the  best  of  her  race  were  hers.  She  was  of 
an  eminent  family.  John  Thomson,  her  grandfather, 
migrated  from  Scotland  to  Pennsylvania  some  years  be 
fore  the  Revolution,  and  wielded  a  wide  influence  in  the 
province.  As  soon  as  he  became  familiar  with  the  coun 
try  and  its  people,  and  could  intelligently  weigh  the 
subject  of  immigration,  he  became  convinced  of  the 
advantages  and  opportunities  in  America.  He  then 
wrote  to  his  friends  in  Scotland  a  circular  letter,  or 
address,  in  which  he  portrayed  the  country  in  its  physi 
cal,  industrial,  political  and  social  features,  and  advised 
his  former  neighbors  to  cast  their  fortunes  with  his,  in  the 
New  World.  This  letter  was  widely  published  at  the 
time.  In  its  thoughtful  views  and  forcible  expressions  it 
reminds  one  of  De  Tocqueville.  Copies  are  still  pre 
served  in  the  family,  and  treasured  as  a  precious  legacy. 
As  a  consequence  of  this  publication  the  region  between 
Chambersburg  and  Carlisle  was  peopled  largely  by 
Thomson's  countrymen.. 

Of  this  notable  man  a  writer  has  remarked  :  "  Taking 
into  account  his  own  large  family,  his  influence  upon  his 
day  and  generation  has  been  widely  perpetuated.  Sev 
eral  of  his  sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  many  of  his  descendants  have  attained  distinction  in 


44  MAJOR   JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

the  different  walks  of  life.  Besides  those  bearing 
name,  mention  may  be  made  of  the  Agnews  of  New  York, 
the  Blacks  and  Watsons  of  Pittsburg,  the  Wylies  of  Phil 
adelphia,  and  the  Hendrickses  of  Indiana." 

"The  wife  of  John  Hendricks  and  her  niece  are  the 
only  members  of  the  Thomson  family  who  emigrated 
west,"  the  writer  adds,  and  says,  "  In  nearly  every 
branch  of  the  family  the  Calvinistic  faith  of  the  Thom 
sons  is  still  maintained." 

The  intimacy  commenced  at    Dr.  Black's  resulted  in 
an  early  union.   The  marriage  of  John  Hendricks  and  Jane- 
Thomson,  parents  of  the  Vice-President,  united  two  of  the 
oldest  and  most  noted  families  of  the  Pennsylvania  border. 
Thus,  on  both  sides  of  the  house,  from  the  men  of  Col 
onial  days,  from  the  patriotic  fathers  of  a  commonwealth, 
from    Revolutionary  stock,  was    the  Indiana   statesman 
descended.     In  the  earnest,  manly  lives  of  his  Pennsyl 
vania   ancestors,  Mr.  Hendricks   always  felt  an   honest 
pride  ;  and  on  certain  occasions  it  gave  him  pleasure  to 
recall  the    family  legends  told  of  them  at  the    fireside. 
Into  the  vulgar  ostentation  of  family  pride,  he  never  fell ; 
yet  he  highly  prized  the  legacy  of  his  family  history,  and 
was  interested  in  whatever  pertained  to  it,  were  it  a  com 
monplace    narration    or   an    old  escutcheon.     A  remark 
which  George  William  Curtis  ascribes  to  Mr.  Potipharis- 
apposite  and  just.      "If  I  had  Sir  Philip   Sidney  to  my 
ancestor,  I    should  wear    his    crest   upon    my  ring,  and 
glory  in  my  relationship  ;  and  I  hope  I  should  be  a  better 
man  for  it.     I  wouldn't  put  his  arms  upon  my  carriage,, 
however,  because  that  would  mean  nothing  but  ostenta 
tion.     It  would  be  merely  a  flourish  of  trumpets  to  say 
that  I  was  his  descendant,  and  nobody  would  know  that,, 
either,  if  my  name  chanced  to  be  Boggs.     In  my  library 
I  might  hang  a  copy  of  the  family  escutcheon,  as  a  mat 
ter  of  interest  and  curiosity  to  myself,  for  I  am  sure  I 
shouldn't  understand  it.     A  man  may  be  as  proud  of  his 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS.  45 

family  as  he  chooses — and  if  he  has  noble  ancestors, 
with  good  reason.  But  there  is  no  sense  in  parading 
that  pride." 

The  young  couple  removed,  shortly  after  their  mar 
riage,  to  Muskingum  county,  near  Zanesville,  Ohio. 
Here  for  a  time  they  resided  in  a  simple  log  cabin  ;  and 
here,  perhaps,  would  have  been  their  permanent  home  but 
for  William  Hendricks,  whose  brilliantly  successful  career 
in  Indiana  lured  them  still  further  westward.  Two  sons 
were  born  to  them  in  Ohio — Abram  and  Thomas  Andrews. 

John  Hendricks  removed  with  his  little  family  in  the 
>early  spring  of  1820  to  Madison,  the  home  of  Congress 
man  William  Hendricks,  and  entered  upon  his  career  in 
this  State.  That  career  was  not  political,  and  its  details 
seem  commonplace  in  biography  or  history.  Yet  of  the 
five  brothers  he  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  char 
acters.  He  is  accorded  the  honor  of  having  been  the 
founder  of  a  city.  He  was  a  pillar  of  his  church.  He 
was  a  leader  of  men  in  public  enterprises.  In  all  south 
eastern  Indiana  he  lives  in  the  memories  of  the  people, 
while  Congressmen  and  Senators  who  wrere  his  contem 
poraries  are  forgotten.  It  is  often  a  surprise  to  inquirers 
as  to  his  official  rank,  to  know  that  he  was  never  elected 
to  any  important  office  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 

Two  years  after  his  arrival  at  Madison,  he  had  his 
future  home  selected  and  prepared,  and  thither  he  now 
removed.  It  seemed  the  heart  of  a  vast  wilderness.  In 
1822,  the  year  of  his  brother's  election  to  the  Executive 
chair,  the  cabin  of  the  pioneer  was  built  in  the  forest, 
near  the  banks  of  Blue  river,  twenty-six  miles  in  line 
southeast  of  the  new  capital.  It  was  not  one  of  those 
diminutive,  comfortless  habitations  which  one  sometimes 
sees  in  the  form  of  cabins,  but  for  a  log  structure  was 
commodious  and  airy,  and  contained  a  pleasant  chamber 
above  the  main  apartments.  In  a  year  or  two  its  coun 
terpart  was  built  on  one  side,  with  a  hall-way  between, 


46  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

though  it  was  at  best  but  a  temporary  home.  To  this 
day  the  later-built  portion  of  the  old  cabin  remains, 
intact  and  inhabited.  Neighbors  were  few,  and  none 
had  been  long  in  the  vicinity.  The  region  was  organized 
into  a  new  county  in  the  same  year,  and  named  in  honor 
of  Governor  Isaac  Shelby,  of  Kentucky.  '  A  commission 
of  five  members  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  locate  the  county  seat.  John  Hendricks  offered  to  the 
county  a  donation  of  forty  acres  for  the  purpose.  John- 
Walker  added  ten  acres,  and  James  Davidson  agreed  to 
give  twenty  acres  more,  if  needed.  These  generous 
offers  secured  the  location  of  the  new  town  to  the  west  of 
the  Hendricks  farm. 

In  August  the  survey  of  lots  began,  and  a  sale  at  auc 
tion  followed  in  September,  when  the  lands  were  readily 
disposed  of  at  prices  ranging  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars 
per  lot.  Only  one-twelfth  of  the  purchase  money  was  re 
quired  in  advance,  the  remainder  being  payable  in  three 
annual  installments.  Thus  the  means  were  raised  for 
erecting  the  court  house,  and  thus  all  persons  were  ac 
corded  an  equal  opportunity  to  purchase  town  property. 
The  early  growth  of  the  county-seat  was  rapid,  and  town 
lots  became  a  remunerative  investment.  The  improve 
ment  of  the  public  square  followed  soon  after  the  sale. 
Later,  the  Michigan  Pike  road  was  built,  passing  in  front 
of  the  Hendricks  homestead. 

John  Hendricks  speedily  cleared  his  farm,  and  extended 
a  kindly  aid  to  his  neighbors.  He  owned  many  valuable 
books,  and  subscribed  for  the  leading  journals  of  the 
State.  He  was  known  for  his  generous  style  of  living, 
and  introduced  in  the  wilderness  of  Shelby  the  open- 
hearted  hospitality  which  had  characterized  his  father's 
house  in  Pennsylvania.  Ministers  who  traveled  through 
the  county  began  to  stop  at  his  house,  even  before  the 
highway  led  to  his  door  or  any  public  road  was  built. 
On  the  7th  of  July,  1824,  the  Presbyterian  Church  was 


MAJOR   JOHN    HENDRICKS.  47 

organized  through  his  efforts,  and  he  became  the  leading 
elder — assuming  a  position  which  he  faithfully  filled  for 
many  years.  The  Judges  of  the  court,  and  often  the  at 
torneys  also,  sought  out  the  forest  home  of  John  Hendricks 
as  they  did  the  homes  of  his  brothers  at  Madison  or  Cory- 
don  and  at  Greensburgh,  and  in  their  peregrinations 
brought  messages  from  the  Governor  and  the  legislator. 

Senator  Smith,  whose  most  picturesque  and  interesting 
book  has  been  mentioned,  gives  an  account  of  such  a  judi 
cial  pilgrimage  from  home  to  home  among  the  Hen- 
drickses,  in  which  he  accurately  describes  his  quondam 
host.  The  sketch  was  written  in  1857,  and  is  here  repro 
duced  in  the  Senator's  own  words. 

"  In  early  days  the  counties  of  Decatur  and  Shelby 
were  in  the  woods.  The  counties  had  just  been  organ 
ized  ;  the  first  terms  of  the  courts  were  about  to  be  held, 
William  W.  Wick  was  President  Judge.  The  court  met 
at  Greensburgh,  in  a  log  building  on  the  north  side  of 
the  public  square.  The  Court  and  Bar  stopped  with 
Thomas  Hendricks,  a  brother  of  Governor  William 
Hendricks.  There  were  lew  cases  on  the  docket.  Court 
lasted  only  two  days,  when  the  Judges  and  lawyers  left 
for  Shelbyville,  where  the  term  was  to  commence  on 
Thursday  of  the  same  week.  We  started  in  fine  spirits 
from  Greensburgh,  after  breakfast.  The  day  was  cloudy, 
dark  and  drizzling.  There  was  no  road  cut  out  then 
between  Greensburgh  and  Shelbyville  ;  there  were  some 
neighborhood  paths,  only,  in  the  direction  between  them. 
Judge  Wick  rode  a  spirited  animal,  and  at  once  took  the 
lead.  Away  we  went,  at  a  rapid  traveling  gait.  All  at 
once  the  Judge  stopped  at  a  little  log  cabin  at  a  fork  of 
the  paths,  upon  the  gate-post  of  which  hung  a  rough 
board,  with  the  word  "whisky"  marked  upon  it  with 
chalk.  The  Judge  hallooed  at  the  top  of  his  voice  ;  the 
door  opened,  and  out  came  the  woman  of  the  cabin. 

"  The  Judge — '  Have  you  got  any  whisky?  ' 


48  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

4  Yes,  plenty ;  but  we  have  no  license  to  sell,  and  we 
will  be  prosecuted  if  we  sell  by  the  small.  You  can  have 
a  gallon.' 

4  A  gallon !  I  don't  want  a  gallon.  A  tin-cupful,  with 
some  sugar,  will  do.' 

'You  can't  have  it.' 

*  Fetch  it  out.  I  am  the  President  Judge  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  and  this  is  Mr.  Smith.  I  can  quash  any  indict 
ment  these  woods'  prosecuting  attorneys  can  find  against 
you.  Fetch  it  out.  There  is  no  danger  of  prosecu 
tion.' 

"  Thus  assured,  the  old  woman  returned  and  brought 

o 

out  the  whisky  and  sugar.  The  Judge  took  the  lion's 
part,  and  on  he  went ;  but  took  the  path  that  led  to  Brook- 
ville  instead  of  the  one  to  Shelby ville.  We  all  followed, 
but  soon  becoming  aware  that  we  were  on  the  wrong 
road,  we  turned,  came  back  to  the  whisky  board,  struck 
the  Shelbyville  trace,  and  just  at  night  rode  up  to  the 
residence,  in  the  woods,  of  John  Hendricks,  near  Shel 
byville. 

"  The  Major  received  us  with  a  hearty  welcome,  turned 
our  horses  out  in  his  pasture  field,  and  we  all  walked 
over  to  town—about  half  a  mile.  There  were  some  three 
or  four  houses  in  Shelbyville ;  only  one  public  house  in 
the  place,  kept  by  a  man  of  the  name  of  Williams.  Next 
day  the  court  was  held.  Some  four  or  five  cases  for 
selling  whisky  without  license  were  tried,  and  the  court 
adjourned.  Major  John  Hendricks  was  a  younger  brother 
of  Governor  William  Hendricks.  He  was  one  of  the 
finest  looking  men  in  the  State— six  feet  high,  as  straight 
as  a  gun-barrel,  well  built  up,  head  large  and  erect,  high 
forehead,  hair  dark  and  thrown  back  in  front,  good  fea 
tures,  eyes  light  blue,  sparkling  and  intelligent.  He  was 
a  noble  specimen  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  The  Hen 
dricks  family  were  early  settlers  of  the  State  from  one  of 
the  central  valleys  of  Pennsylvania ;  were  all  fine-look- 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS.  49 

ing  men,  in  character  hospitable,  noble,  magnanimous 
and  generous — and  none  more  so  than  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  I  have  known  him  long,  and  among  all  my  ac 
quaintances  I  know  of  no  man  possessing  a  higher  sense 
of  honor  or  a  greater  degree  of  high-toned  moral  integ 
rity.  I  saw  him  on  yesterday,  still  erect,  with  hair  as 
white  as  the  drifted  snow,  his  step  firm,  his  countenance 
wearing  the  smile  of  former  years.  May  he  live  long  to 
enjoy  a  green  old  age." 

For  many  years  after  the  War  of  1812  there  was  a 
wide  and  deep  interest  in  military  affairs.  There  was  no 
call  for  a  large  standing  army,  but  a  demand  for  a  trained 
and  organized  militia.  Our  land  successes  in  that  war, 
it  will  be  remembered,  were  gained  generally  against 
fearful  odds,  and  were  due  to  the  extraordinary  marks 
manship  of  the  riflemen  of  the  West — generally  raw 
recruits.  In  most  of  the  States,  perhaps  in  all  of  them, 
there  were  regular  occasions  of  muster  and  parade. 
Early  sessions  of  the  Legislatures  of  various  Western 
States  devoted  a  large  share  of  their  attention  to  the 
organization  of  State  militia.  The  General  Assembly  of 
Indiana  was  not  an  exception.  The  militia  of  Indiana, 
indeed,  dated  from  early  territorial  times,  and  the  con 
stant  dangers  from  the  proximity  of  Indian  tribes  had 
kept  it  from  falling  into  disuse.  The  border  troubles  of 
1824  caused  special  apprehension  on  the  part  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  Shelby  county.  John  Hendricks  had  been 
enrolled,  doubtless,  among  the  State  soldiery  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  his  services  were  needed  in  the  military 
organization  of  the  new  settlement.  The  muster  might 
be  made  farcical  or  useful,  according  to  its  command.  In 
fact  it  was  the  frequent  lack  of  proper  direction  that  sub 
sequently  brought  the  system  into  ridicule.  John  Hen 
dricks  held  the  rank  of  Major,  and  was  familiarly  and 
affectionately  addressed  by  that  title  to  the  day  of  his 
4 


50  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

death.  He  was  never  called  into  active  military  service, 
for  the  land  was  long  blessed  with  peace.  But  he  was  a 
brave  man,  an  efficient  organizer,  and  an  officer  who 
would  have  reflected  credit  upon  his  command  on  a  battle 
field.  Every  man  possessed  his  own  fire-arms,  and  all 
seemed  to  have  some  knowledge  of  tactics.  Musters 
were  occasions  of  friendly  reunion,  and  are  remembered 
with  pleasure  as  having  broken  the  monotony  of  country 
life.  And  indeed  few  scenes  of  early  days  were  more 
picturesque  than  those  musters,  with  their  music  and 
banners  and  the  evolutions  of  the  drill. 

There  was  no  popular  election  for  President  in  1824, 
the  vote  of  the  State  being  quietly  cast  by  order  of  the 
General  Assembly  for  Andrew  Jackson,  with  the  general 
approval  of  the  citizens.  In  this  approval,  however, 
Major  Hendricks  and  John  Walker  did  not  join,  as  they 
were  strong  advocates  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  The 
feeling  grew  strong  between  the  Adams  men  and  the 
Jackson  men  in  the  little  town  when  the  election  was 
thrown  into  the  House  of  Representatives  and  Adams 
was  chosen  to  the  office  for  which  Jackson  had  received 
a  larger  number  of  electoral  votes.  The  Jackson  men 
had  charge  of  the  county  buildings  in  the  earlier  days  of 
the  strife,  and  caused  the  court  house  to  face  the  west, 
where  the  General's  supporters  owned  lots  ;  and  to  thwart 
any  rivalry  as  to  value  of  location,  made  but  one  door 
way  in  the  building.  And  the  accusation  of  local  un 
fairness  in  this  matter  was  made  an  off-set  to  the  charge 
of  unfairness  in  the  action  of  the  House  in  Mr.  Adams's 
case. 

In  1826  John  Walker  was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  walk  with  a  brick-mason  to 
the  north  side  of  the  building,  opposite  a  row  of  lots 
owned  by  Adams  men,  and  say,  pointing  to  the  center  of 
the  wall, — 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENflRICKS.  51 

"  There !  I  want  you  to  make  a  door  through  that 
wall." 

And  this  was  done  at  once. 

The  excitement  of  that  year  attendant  upon  the  alleged 
killing  of  William  Morgan,  in  New  York,  reached  Shel 
by  ville,  and  the  new  party  of  Anti-Masons  found  adher 
ents  there  among  the  proprietors  of  lots  south  of  the 
square.  Ovid  Butler  was  one  of  these,  and  eventually 
secured  a  court  house  door-way  in  the  south  side  of  the 
building.  Major  Hendricks  continued  to  favor  the  inter 
ests  of  Adams  and  Clay  against  the  Hero  of  New  Orleans 
until  the  magnificent  statesmanship  of  that  chieftain  was 
shown  in  his  veto  of  the  Bank  bill  and  his  suppression  of 
the  nullification,  when  the  Major  became  one  of  his 
stanchest  supporters. 

As  soon  as  he  had  placed  his  farm  in  order  and  secured 
time  and  means  for  the  erection  of  a  permanent  residence, 
Major  Hendricks  built  a  large  mansion  at  some  distance 
from  his  temporary  dwelling.  Perhaps  no.  private  resi 
dence  of  the  State  has  ever  been  better  known  than  this, 
and  indeed  it  would  remain  an  object  of  popular  inter 
est  had  it  never  been  designated  as  the  childhood  home 
of  the  statesman  whose  early  years  were  passed  beneath 
its  roof.  It  still  stands,  essentially  as  first  constructed, 
and  is  worthy  an  extended  description.  It  rests  upon 
a  graceful  knoll  which  rises  to  a  height  of  about  forty 
feet  above  the  plain,  facing  to  the  westward.  It  is  built 
•on  the  plan  of  the  old  homesteads  of  the  wealthy  in  the 
vicinity  of  Chambersburg  and  common  in  northern  Vir 
ginia.  Its  front  possesses  the  generous  breadth  of  about 
fifty  feet.  A  large  door  in  the  center,  capped  by  a  semi 
circular  window  with  radiating  bars,  opens  into  a  great 
hall,  which  extends  through  the  main  building,  a  length 
of  thirty-five  or  forty  feet.  The  ceiling  is  high  and  unor- 
namented.  On  either  side  are  two  large  doorways,  at 
regular  intervals,  with  suitable  heavy  casings.  In  the 


52  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

rear,  turned  backward  from  the  main  door,  is  a  flight  of 
stairs  leading  to  the  sleeping  chambers  above,  and  almost 
lost  in  the  large  corridor.  In  such  a  hall  it  was  customary 
to  hang,  high  up,  the  old  family  portraits-in-oil,  and  to 
range  upon  the  side  long,  old  fashioned  sofas.  Through 
it  passed  freely  the  cool  air  in  summer  days.  Here 
paused  the  neighbors  who  came  on  errands  or  for  short 
calls.  Often  the  hall,  in  such  a  house,  is  the  favorite 
room  of  the  household.  -On  each  side  are  two  large 
rooms,  scarcely  less  than  twenty  feet  square.  Midway 
in  the  outer  wall  of  each  is  a  tall,  wide  fire-place,  with  a 
high,  deep  mantel.  On  one  side  of  this,  extending  to 
the  wall,  is  that  well-known  compound  of  side-board  and 
closet,  with  its  turned  oaken  posts,  paneled  doors  and 
large  drawers,  and  its  broad  expanse  of  thick  oaken, 
board  above.  To  the  rear  of  the  second  room  on  the 
right  was  a  kitchen  of  equal  dimensions ;  and  adjoining 
the  latter,  on  the  left,  a  summer  kitchen  of  the  same 
size. 

Such  was  the  Major's  home,  where  his  children  grew 
to  manhood  and  womanhood.  Of  the  scores  of  sketches 
that  have  been  written  of  the  Vice-President's  career,  per 
haps  there  is  none  that  does  not  contain  an  extended 
reference  to  the  influence  of  this  home.  For  a  generation 
it  was  the  resort  of  the  great  and  good  who  sojourned  in 
that  region.  Ministers  of  all  denominations  laid  down 
their  satchels  in  the  hall,  and  rested  in  the  spacious 
chambers  from  the  fatigue  of  travel  and  protracted  pas 
toral  work ;  and  their  voices  blended  with  those  of 
parents  and  children  in  evening  hymn  and  prayer  at  the 
fireside.  Statesmen  argued  upon  questions  of  public 
policy  in  chamber  or  hall,  or  under  the  mighty  willow 
tree  that  stands  before  the  house.  All  were  welcome 
who  came  to  claim  the  hospitality  of  the  free-hearted 
Major. 

The  wife  and  mother  who  presided  with  gentle  grace 


MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS.  53 

and  affectionate  spirit  over  the  household  was  a  real  home 
queen,  and  is  remembered  with  every  scene  of  life  in  the 
old  mansion  as  the  presiding  genius,  at  once  thoughtful 
and  cheerful,  serious  in  life's  purpose  and  joyous  hearted 
in  the  performance  of  life's  duties. 

John  Hendricks  loved  his  home.  He  lived  for  his 
home — not  selfishly,  for  none  could  extend  its  enjoyments 
more  widely,  but  as  a  type  of  the  Home  above,  a  sacred 
place,  the  center  of  his  happiness,  the  subject  of  his 
thought  and  care.  Major  Hendricks  prospered  in  business 
affairs.  He  loved  money  not  for  itself,  but  for  the  good  it 
might  accomplish.  He  cleared  a  large  farm,  and  ren 
dered  it  very  productive.  He  made  judicious  purchases 
of  town  property,  which  advanced  in  worth.  Being 
acquainted  with  the  tanner's  art,  and  seeing  an  opportu 
nity  for  the  establishment  of  a  manufactory  of  leather,  he 
established  a  tan-yard  on  his  farm  and  built  up  a  good 
trade  in  hides.  He  was  a  good  surveyor,  and  possessed 
a  fine  set  of  instruments.  His  reputation  for  accuracy 
caused  his  services  to  be  in  general  demand  among  land 
purchasers  in  locating  their  tracts.  In  the  last  years  of 
Jackson's  administration  he  was  appointed  assistant  sur 
veyor  of  public  lands — an  important  office,  which  he  dis 
charged  for  some  years  with  the  highest  acceptability. 
Our  system  of  national  surveys,  it  may  be  remarked,  is  a 
triumph  of  practical  wisdom  as  admirable  as  our  decimal 
system  of  money ;  and  the  marvels  of  its  vastness  in 
extent  and  its  uniform  simplicity,  are  matters  of  admir 
ation  and  pride  to  the  profession  of  surveyors  in  America. 
The  surveyor's  chain  is,  moreover,  a  remembrancer  of 
the  Father  of  his  Country,  who  in  youth  traced  the  lines 
of  old  estates  in  Virginia. 

In  his  later  years  Major  Hendricks  erected  an  elegant 
modern  mansion  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Shelbyville, 
where  he  resided  until  the  day  of  his  death.  He  passed 
peacefully  away  on  the  24th  of  August,  1866,  and  was 


54  MAJOR  JOHN    HENDRICKS. 

followed  to  the  tomb  by  an  immense  concourse  of  people, 
who  mourned  the  departure  of  one  of  the  notable  men  of 
the  State.  Of  the  Major's  eight  children,  six  were  born 
at  the  Shelby  homestead.  Two  of  these  died  in  infancy  , 
all  the  others  grew  to  manhood  and  womanhood.  Abram, 
the  eldest,  became  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  died  in 
1866;  Jane  was  married  to  Dr.  Webb,  of  Shelbyville, 
who  died  in  1850.  She  afterward  became  the  wife  of  Dr. 
Pierce,  of  the  same  city,  and  they  removed  to  New  York, 
where  she  died.  Anna  was  subsequently  married  to  the 
same  Dr.  Pierce,  who  survives  with  her,  and  they  are 
now  residing  in  New  York  City.  John  was  postmaster 
at  Shelbyville  for  a  number  of  years,  and  died  at  Delphi, 
O.  a  few  years  since.  James,  the  youngest,  still  resides 
at  Shelbyville,  he  and  Mrs.  Pierce  being  the  only  sur 
vivors  of  the  family. 


CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS.  59 

remarked  Mr.  Isaac  Wilson,  at  the  close  of  the  address, 
while  Mr.  Hendricks  was  mingling  with  the  crowd. 
"  He  has  said  nothing  about  Mr.  Hawkins." 

"  No,"  remarked  the  Governor,  "I  confess  I  do  not 
relish  the  memory  of  his  birch  rods." 

Probably  Mr.  Hawkins  was  deemed  a  not  unamiable 
man  in  his  day,  but  it  was  the  day  of  corporal  punish 
ment  in  all  seasons  and  for  all  offenses.  In  beautiful  con 
trast  with  the  severity  of  discipline  so  nearly  universal 
then  was  the  sweet  and  gentle  reign  of  the  noble  wife  of 
the  pastor. 

During  the  Presidential  canvass  ot  1884,  Judge  Sleeth 
and  his  wife  met  Mr.  Hendricks  at  the  capital,  and  the 
latter  invited  them  to  an  "  old  fashioned  talk,"  as  he  ex 
pressed  it.  "Tell  me,"  said  he  to  the  lady,  "  what  do 
you  remember  of  the  old  log  school  house?" 

"  Well,  Tom,"  said  she  addressing  him  in  the  manner 
of  old  school  days,  "  do  you  remember  the  time  when  you 
drank  Jane's  bottle  of  milk?" 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  thoughtful  for  a  moment,  then 
broke  into  a  hearty  laugh. 

"  I  believe  I  do  remember  it,"  said  he,  though  it  had 
almost  gone  from  me  forever."  And  then  he  laughed 
again  as  the  picture  of  old  days  came  up  before  him — the 
dinner  basket  with  its  one  bottle  of  milk,  intended  for  the 
sister,  and  his  mistaken  appropriation  of  its  contents  to 
his  own  use  ;  his  embarrassment  and  chagrin  at  finding 
himself  in  the  position  of  one  defrauding  his  charge,  and 
the  utter  impossibility  of  making  any  restitution  at  the 
time.  The  trials  of  childhood  seem  absurd  in  later  years,, 
but  they  are  great  in  their  proportion. 

The  Shelby  County  Seminary  was  chartered  in  1831, 
and  the  building  was  speedily  erected.  It  contained  a 
corridor,  a  double  staircase  ascending  from  right  and  left 
of  the  main  entrance,  and  a  large  assembly  room,  in  the 
lower  story.  There  were  four  rooms  on  the  second  floor. 


60  CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS. 

Mr.  Kent  was  the  first  principal,  but  did  not  long  remain 
in  charge.  A  Mr.  CofFman  followed,  and  conducted  an 
excellent  school.  Still  later,  Prof.  F.  P.  Cummins,  a 
trained  and  able  teacher  of  long  experience  and  thorough 
culture,  succeeded  to  the  principalship. 

Young  Hendricks  was  a  studious  pupil,  and  labored 
to  excel.  As  in  all  the  old  seminaries,  oratorial  exer 
cises  were  a  prominent  feature  of  the  work.  He  took 
pains  to  commit  his  speeches  fully  and  to  speak  them  in 
natural  tones.  In  learning  them  he  often  repeated  them 
along  the  by-ways  on  his  road  to  school,  when  he  deemed 
himself  unobserved.  Becoming  absorbed  in  the  decla 
mation,  he  would  sometimes  forget  that  others  might 
overhear  him.  It  is  related  that  one  of  his  school-fellows 
noticed  him  thus  reciting  to  himself  and  exclaimed, — 

"  There  goes  that  lunatic  !  " 

"Yes,"  interposed  the  father  of  the  speaker,  who 
chanced  to  hear  the  remark,  "  and  I  wish  you  would 
row  to  be  alunatic  of  the  same  kind." 

Upon  one  occasion  a  sudden  and  unexpected  storm  in 
the  fall  rapidly  covered  the  ground  with  snow.  One  of 
the  boys  at  the  school  was  in  great  distress  at  the 
close,  for  he  had  no  shoes  and  lived  at  a  considerable 
distance.  Thomas  Hendricks  lent  him  his  boots,  and 
remained  alone  at  the  seminary  as  the  short  day  closed, 
until  they  were  returned  by  a  sister  of  the  destitute  lad. 

Dickens  describes  the  absolute  and  tyrannical  power 
of  the  "  leader  "  of  a  company  of  school  boys,  and  Eggle- 
ston  has  carried  out  the  idea  somewhat  in  his  King  Pewee. 
Unless  there  be  a  counter-influence  of  equal  force,  the 
school-boy  tyrant  has  his  own  way,  and  often  exerts  a 
pernicious  power  over  his  fellows.  There  was  a  similar 
influence  at  work  in  the  old  seminary.  Many  of  the  boys 
were  given  over  to  mischief,  and  wasted  their  time  with 
out  remorse,  annoying  the  teachers  and  the  citizens  with 
their  senseless  and  rowdyish  pranks.  Hendricks,  then  a 


CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS.  61 

boy  in  his  teens,  exerted  his  influence  to  bring  about  a 
better  state  of  things.  As  fond  of  amusement  and  mirth 
as  any  of  the  others,  he  looked  with  disgust  upon  their 
trifling  and  dishonorable  escapades  and  waste  of  oppor 
tunities.  His  old-time  school-mates,  now  bent  and  gray, 
relate  how  he  once  addressed  a  group  of  boys  as  they 
paused  at  a  fence  corner,  on  the  road  from  school. 
Warming  up  under  the  taunts  of  the  more  reckless,  he 
maintained  his  ground,  that  they  were  doing  injustice  to 
themselves  and  to  those  whom  they  influenced.  He  re 
minded  them  that  honors  in  life  come  not  to  a  class,  in 
this  country,  but  to  those  who  win  them,  and  repeated 
the  old  but  inspiring  saying,  that  the  humblest  citizen 
may  aspire  even  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Republic.  The 
influence  of  his  words  was  not  lost  upon  his  hearers,  as 
is  attested  by  their  long  remembering  the  sentiments — 
almost  the  exact  words — which  he  uttered. 

When  in  his  fifteenth  year,  Mr.  Hendricks  witnessed 
the  construction  of  the  first  railway  in  Indiana,  in  which 
great  and  important  enterprise  the  Major  bore  a  leading 
part.  The  story  of  its  inception  and  first  operation  is  one 
of  the  interesting  legends  of  Shelbyville,  and  is  given 
here  in  the  form  in  which  it  has  more  than  once  appeared 
in  columns  of  the  press  : 

Walker's  Rail  Road — that's  what  they  called  it,  and 
that's  the  way  they  wrote  it.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  story 
of  Walker's  Rail  Road — the  first  chartered  or  operated 
in  Indiana?  No?  Well,  here  it  is. 

February  2,  1832  was  a  big  day  for  Governor  Noble. 
Nothing  ever  gratified  his  heart  so  much  as  public  im 
provements,  and  on  this  notable  day  he  had  five  bills  to 
sign,  each  of  which  incorporated  a  great  ''rail  road 
company."  Sign  them?  Of  course  ;  he'd  sign  anything 
in  the  shape  of  a  railway  charter.  There  was  no  doubt 
upon  his  face  as  his  quill  pen  threaded  out  his  name  and 
the  word  "  approved,"  in  the  proper  place.  Doubtless, 


62  CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS. 

as  on  occasions  of  more  than  usual  interest  and  pleasure, 
the  look  of  pain,  habitual  through  years  of  suffering,  left 
his  wan  features.  Canals  and  railways  were  his  delight. 
This  was  the  opening  out  of  his  administration.  Five 
railways  in  one  day ! 

"  Men  shall  hear  of  Thorberg  Skafting 
For  a  hundred-year," 

said  the  old  Norseman.  "  My  administration  will  be  a 
most  memorable  era  of  material  progress,"  soliloquized 
the  noble  Governor. 

First  came  the  Lawrenceburgh  &  Indianapolis  Rail 
Road,  then  the  Madison,  Indianapolis  &  Lafayette  Rail 
Road,  then  the  Ohio  &  Lafayette  Rail  Road,  then  the 
Wabash  &  Michigan  Rail  Road,  and  finally,  the  Harri 
son  &  Indianapolis  Rail  Road. 

The  names  of  these  roads  generally  indicated  their 
terminations.  In  that  early  day  no  twenty-five  mile  line 
from  Squashville  to  Podunk  was  known  as  the  "  Pt. 
Barrow  &  Cape  Horn"  or  the  "  Boston  &  San  Francisco" 
line.  Come  to  think  of  it,  there  wasn't  any  San  Fran 
cisco  then,  nor  Chicago,  nor  Omaha,  nor  St.  Paul,  either. 

The  O.  &  L.  F.  R.  R.  was  to  run  from  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  to  the  new  city  on  the  Wabash,  and  the  W.  &  M. 
R.  R.  was  to  continue  the  line  to  Trail  Creek.  Where  is 
Trail  Creek?  Why,  it  is  the  harbor  of  Michigan  City; 
though  there  was  no  town  on  the  south  shore  then,  only 
piles  of  blue-white,  unearthly  looking  sand — "dunes  " 
they  called  them — and  the  Territory  of  Michigan  claimed 
them,  clear  around  to  Illinois. 

But  I  am  digressing  from  my  subject,  which  is  the  first 
railway.  It  was  to  have  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000. 
Among  the  incorporators  were  several  men  whose  names 
will  be  recognized  by  all  old  citizens  of  Indiana.  These 
were  Nicholas  McCarty  and  William  Blythe,  of  Indi 
anapolis  ;  there  was  John  Walker,  of  Shelbyville,  father 


CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS.  63 

of  the  late  Dr.  John  C.  Walker.  Of  the  same  place  was 
Major  John  Hendricks,  father  of  Governor  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks,  brother  of  the  first  Governor  Hendricks 
and  a  man  fit  to  be  Governor  himself.  There  were 
G.  H.  Dunn  and  Henry  A.  Reid,  of  Ripley  county, 
and  Nathan  D.  Gallion  and  James  Freeman,  of  Decatur. 
The  road  was  to  be  commenced  within  three  years,  or 
the  charter  would  be  forfeited. 

There  were  many  wise  men  who  opposed  the  enter 
prise  and  all  others  like  it.  "  You  will  ruin  Indianapolis," 
they  said.  "You  will  carry  away  all  her  trade."  And 
to  the  people  along  the  line  the  wise  men  said,  "These 
steam  car  men  will  ruin  the  whole  country.  There  will 
be  no  more  use  for  horses  and  wagons."  And  they  not 
only  asserted  this  but  proved  it.  They  showed  it  to  be  a 
moral  certainty. 

But  there  were  men  of  progress  in  Indiana  who  took 
hold  of  the  enterprise  with  a  will.  The  company  was 
organized  ;  the  books  were  opened  ;  stock  was  sold.  The 
workmen  followed  the  surveyors  and  commenced  opera 
tions.  For  a  time  things  moved  on  slowly ;  money  was 
scarce ;  the  stock  of  the  road  was  talked  up  and  talked 
down,  taken  or  refused  as  payment  for  debts,  eagerly 
subscribed  and  contemptuously  trifled  away — as  the 
hopes  of  the  people  rose  and  fell.  John  Walker's  faith 
never  faltered.  He  never  lost  confidence,  whatever  the 
discouragement,  but  used  every  means  to  build  up  the 
public  confidence  in  the  enterprise,  that  the  stock  might 
be  quoted  at  an  encouraging  figure,  and  the  work  be 
pushed  as  fast  as  possible.  The  people  wanted  to  see 
something  tangible.  They  could  see  the  road  on  maps, 
but  it  was  like  the  equator — they  couldn't  see  it  anywhere 
else. 

The  year  1834  dawned.  "  Old  Hickory"  (General  An 
drew  Jackson)  had  entered  upon  his  second  administra 
tion.  Governor  Noble's  term  (three  years,  under  the  old 


64  CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS. 

Constitution)  was  drawing  to  a  close.  There  was  a  long" 
line  of  embankment  in  Shelby  county,  but  as  yet  it  was 
as  useless  as  the  Egyptian  pyramids. 

"  I  will  have  some  of  the  road  in  running  order  by  the 
4th  of  July,"  said  John  Walker.  "  You  may  mark  that 
down." 

And  John  Walker  always  did  as  he  said.  But  the  days 
went  by,  and  the  puff  of  the  steam  engine  was  heard  not, 
neither  was  there  the  sound  of  clinking  iron  that  runs 
down  the  long  line  of  road  when  a  spike  is  "  driven 
home." 

The  first  of  July  has  come  and  gone,  and  the  second, 
and  the  third,  and  now,  John  Walker,  what  have  you  to — 
hey?  What !  Why,  is  that  the— the  Rail  Roadf  Yes, 
sir,  this  is  Walker's  Rail  Road,  a  branch  of  the  Lawrence- 
burgh  &  Indianapolis  (now  the  C.  I.  St.  L.  &  C.),  which 
will  soon  be  completed.  It  is  one  and  a  quarter  miles 
long.  The  rails  are  wood.  The  express  car,  mail  car, 
baggage  car,  smoking  car,  ladies'  car,  dining  car,  Pull 
man's  palace  car  and  all  the  rest  are  all  in  one,  and 
John  Walker  had  it  made  in  Shelbyville.  The  locomo 
tives  (there  are  two  of  them)  have  each  four  legs,  and  are 
very  fond  of  corn  and  oats.  There  is  to  be  a  picnic  at 
the  other  end  of  the  line,  and  you  will  find  plenty  of  good 
things  to  eat  and  to  drink, with  good  music,  good  speeches, 
pretty  girls,  strong  and  handsome  boys,  and  all  the  old 
settlers  of  the  county  and  surrounding  regions.  The  fare 
is  only  "  a  shilling,"  whatever  that  may  mean,  and  is  not 
too  much  for  a  ride  on  the  first  train  of  the  first  railway 
in  Indiana. 

The  morning  of  the  Fourth  was  bright  and  beautiful. 
There  was  no  rain  to  dampen  the  picnic  or  its  pleasures. 
A  Union  Pacific  train  could  not  have  carried  all  who  as 
sembled  at  the  Rail  Road.  The  locomotives  switched — 
their  tails  awhile.  The  conductor  collected  the  fare  from 
"  the  fair."  The  belles  rang  out  their  peals  of  merry 


CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS.  65 

laughter,  and  the  train  "  pulled  out "  on  its  journey.  All 
day  it  ran,  and  away  into  the  night.  Uncle  Billy  Jack 
son,  John  Morris,  John  Tarkington,  David  Macy  and  a 
host  of  others  were  on  board.  Nobody  who  was  at  that 
picnic  will  ever  forget  it,  and  the  old  settlers  will  talk  of 
it,  so  long  as  they  talk  of  anything. 

Men  shall  hear  of  Walker's  Kail  Road 
For  a  hundred-year. 

There  was  no  established  course  for  the  county  semi 
naries,  and  no  two  were  exactly  alike  in  the  advantages 
they- offered.  Everything  depended  upon  the  principal. 
Under  the  teachings  of  CofFman  and  Cummins,  Mr. 
Hendricks  enjoyed  exceptional  advantages ;  and  when 
he  had  completed  the  work  of  the  seminary,  he  left  home 
in  order  to  avail  himself  of  a  course  of  higher  study. 

A  dozen  miles  away,  in  the" direction  of  Greensburg,  a 
school  of  high  repute  was  conducted  by  a  scholarly 
pioneer  named  John  Robinson.  The  institution  was 
called  a  "college,"  and  the  second  teacher  was  a  young 
man  from  Boston,  who  was  dubbed  a  "professor."  At 
this  school  Mr.  Hendricks  completed  his  preparatory 
work.  A  lady  who  \vas  an  inmate  of  Mr.  Robinson's 
house  relates  that  the  student  from  Shelbyville  protected 
from  persecution  and  abuse  a  friendless  orphan  boy  who 
had  been  the  victim  of  unkindness  from  all  the  other  boys 
of  the  school.  He  shamed  them  into  kindness  and  friend 
liness  toward  one  who  had  known  only  trouble  and  sor 
row,  and  to  whom  kind  words  and  deeds  were  as  a  heal 
ing  balm. 

It  was  the  year  preceding  a  gubernatorial  campaign. 
The  prospective  candidates  fcr  the  executive  chair  were 
both  Whigs,  for  Indiana  continued  in  her  singular  way 
to  elect  Whig  Governors  by  Democratic  votes.  The  con 
test  was  to  be  between  David  Wallace  and  John  Dumont. 
5 


CHILDHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS. 

The  latter  addressed   a  large  audience  of  country  folk 
at  the  village  of  St.  Omer,  two  miles  from  the  school. 
All  the  boys  of  the  Robinson  school  were  in  attendance. 
The  discussion  related    entirely    to    State    issues.     The 
State  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy,  having  undertaken 
a  gigantic  system  of  public  works,  which  were  destined 
to  prove  unprofitable  in  a  large  measure.     This,  system 
had  grown  in  the  Legislature,  by  a  course  of  political 
log-rolling,  into  an  extravagant  and  wasteful  combination 
of  enterprises.     Dumont  foresaw  at  this  time -the  inevit 
able  end,  and  urged  the  abandonment  of  the  works,  that 
no  further  expenditure  should  result  and  the  loss   should 
be  kept  within  the  smallest  bounds.     Wallace  possessed 
much  of  the  enthusiasm  of  Governors  Ray  and  Noble  in 
the  matter  of  public  works,  and  was  blind  to  the  impend 
ing   ruin.     Dumont's    address   was    an    able    appeal    to 
the   sober  second  thought  of  the    people.     It  abounded 
in  statistics  of  expenditure,  interest  and  taxation.     Such 
an  address  would  seem  "dry  "  to  most  boys,  but  it  was 
not  to  the  students  at  Robinson's.    Hendricks,  especially, 
was  engaged  as  with  a  romance.     He  listened  to  every 
word,  and  seized  every  argument  advanced,  and  became 
thoroughly  conversant  in  the  system  of  public  works  and 
the  financial  condition  of  the  State.     From  that  day  he 
was   an  advocate   of  Dumont's  views.     David  Wallace 
was  elected  in  August,  1837.     He  was  a  pure  and  able 
man,  but  unfortunate  in  the  time  of  his  election  and  mis 
taken  in  his  policy  of  State  improvements.    In  Congress, 
subsequently,  he  rendered  efficient  service  in  promoting 
the  magnetic  telegraph.     One  of  his  sons— General  Lew 
Wallace— has  achieved  an  international   reputation  as  a 
soldier,  author  and  diplomat. 

Mr.  Hendricks's  home  culture  was  of  great  value  to 
him.  The  Bible  was  the  most  loved  of  classics  in  the 
household.  Its  history,  its  poetry,  its  law  and  its  philos 
ophy  were  alike  familiar  to  the  Major's  sons,  and  they 


CKILPHOOD    AND    SCHOOL    DAYS.  67 

studied  it  with  care.  The  Vice-President's  searching 
knowledge  of  Scripture  was  often  the  subject  of  remark 
in  later  years.  It  might  with  equal  truth  be  said  of  him, 
as  has  been  said  of  Judge  Jere  S.  Black,  that  he  knew 
everything  in  the  Bible  and  everything  in  Shakespeare. 
Milton  was  a  favorite  author  with  Thomas,  and  when  a 
child  he  often  read  aloud  to  his  mother  the  magnificent 
poem  of  "Paradise  Lost,"  appreciating  the  majesty  of 
its  diction,  and  the  solemn  organ-tone  of  its  measures. 
He  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Byron,  the  great  poet 
of  that  day.  He  was  fond  of  English  history,  and  loved 
especially  to  review  the  history  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
Queen  Anne  and  their  times.  In  later  years  he  projected 
writing  a  lecture  on  their  reigns  and  that  of  Victoria,  but 
had  not  sufficient  leisure  for  such  work.  The  present  of 
a  copy  of  Blair's  Rhetoric  from  his  uncle,  the  Governor, 
opened  a  mine  of  untold  treasure.  He  made  a  critical 
study  of  authors,  and  carefully  investigated  the  principles 
of  taste  and  criticism.  History  and  politics  possessed 
enhanced  value  to  a  boy  whose  family  were  connected 
with  them,  and  of  the  positions  maintained  in  the  field  of 
state  by  his  grandfather  and  his  uncles  he  became  gen 
erally  cognizant. 

It  was  his  desire  to  enter  college  as  he  completed  the 
work  of  academic  schools.  His  father  had  not  designed 
to  fit  him  for  any  of  the  learned  professions,  and  was  not 
the  first  to  suggest  the  idea.  The  Major  wisely  gave  his 
sons  opportunities  of  making  money  for  themselves  on 
the  farm,  and  Thomas  earned  a  considerable  sum  for  his 
own  use,  intending  to  apply  it  towards  securing  a  thor 
ough  collegiate  training.  This  fund  the  Major  generously 
supplemented,  and  in  the  fall  of  1836  the  young  student 
set  out  upon  his  journey  from 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

The  town  of  Hanover,  the  scene  of  Mr.  Hendricks's 
college  life,  was  a  village  of  perhaps  three  hundred  in 
habitants,  in  Jefferson  county,  near  the  Ohio.  It  was 
about  five  miles  west  of  Madison,  and  a  good  mile  from 
the  river.  It  was  a  neat  village,  with  regular,  well- 
shaded  streets  and  substantial  residences,  and  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  region  noted  for  the  beauty  and  variety  of  its 
scenery.  In  1836  it  possessed  a  history  covering  a  period 
of  about  a  quarter  century,  and  was  widely  renowned  as  a 
seat  of  learning.  From  the  first  it  had  been  a  leavening 
influence  in  the  society  of  an  extensive  region.  The  pop 
ulation  partook  of  the  character  which  usually  attaches  to 
old  college  towns.  The  standard  of  culture  and  of 
morality  was  high.  Religious  observances  were  univer 
sal,  and  of  the  strictest  type.  There  had  never  been  a 
saloon  in  the  township,  and  all  traffic  in  intoxicants  was 
prohibited. 

Hanover  College  was  the  oldest  denominational  insti 
tution  of  learning  in  the  State,  having  begun  its  career 
as  early  as  1827  as  a  grammar  school  of  the  Presbyterian 
pastor,  Rev.  John  Finley  Crowe,  D.  D.,  in  a  log  cabin. 
A  brick  seminary  building  replaced  the  log  structure  in 
1828,  and  the  General  Assembly  at  its  next  session  char 
tered  the  institution  under  the  title  of  Hanover  Academy. 
Three  years  later  a  larger  building  was  completed  and  a 
college  charter  was  obtained  from  the  legislators,  against 

(68) 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  69 

the  protests  of  many  who  desired  the  State  college  at 
Bloomington  to  have  no  competition. 

The  college  edifice  occupied  a  central  position  in  the 
town,  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  a  pleasant  campus.  It 
was  a  brick  building  of  three  stories,  fronting  the  south, 
in  dimensions  one  hundred  by  forty  feet.  In  front  were 
six  columns,  one  story  in  height,  on  which  rested  the 
wall  of  the  stories  above.  Within  these  supports  was  a 
lobby,  which  answered  the  purpose  of  a  porch.  Above 
the  front  center  was  a  cupola  of  hexagonal  shape,  sur 
mounted  by  a  dome,  and  bearing  aloft  a  globe  and  a 
weather  vane.  The  college  contained  not  only  the  usual 
recitation  rooms,  chapel  and  society  hall,  but  also,  upon 
the  third  floor,  a  number  of  small  chambers  intended  for 
dormitories.  Adjoining  the  village  was  a  manual  labor 
farm — for  Hanover  was  an  industrial  college — and  there 
were,  besides,  numerous  shops  for  various  forms  of  man 
ufacture. 

When  the  fall  term  opened  in  September,  1836,  the 
village  presented  a  lively  scene.  By  steamer  to  the 
Hanover  Landing,  by  stage-coach,  or  in  the  family 
wagon,  came  youths  from  all  directions  to  enter  upon 
their  work  as  students  of  the  college,  and  not  a  few 
made  their  way  on  foot,  carrying  their  worldly  goods  in 
bundles  or  satchels.  The  attendance  of  the  preceding 
session  had  reached  the  unprecedented  number  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty — a  number  which  the  college  was  not 
destined  to  know  again  for  many  years.  Hanover  Col 
lege  was  not  endowed.  The  lands  had  been  presented 
by  Hon.  Williamson  Dunn  and  Dr.  Crowe.  The  design 
of  the  manual  labor  system  was  not  merely  to  afford  an 
opportunity  for  industrial  education  and  for  healthful 
exercise,  but  to  enable  the  students  to  pay  their  way, 
either  wholly  or  in  part ;  and  the  students,  with  few 
exceptions,  met  a  considerable  share  of  their  expenses 
through  their  earnings  on  the  farm  or  in  the  shops. 


70  HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

Among  the  new  students  at  this  time  was  young(Thomas 
A.  Hendricks,  a  bright,  handsome  boy  of  seventeen./* 
The  nearness  of  his  uncle's  residence  at  Madison,  and 
the  interest  which  the  Senator  had  ever  felt  in  the  col 
lege,  doubtless  led  to  the  preference  of  Hanover  as  the 
alma  mater  of  the  youth  from  Shelby ville.  Moreover, 
the  strong  attachment  of  Major  John  Hendricks  for  the 
men  and  the  institutions  of  his  church  was  an  influence 
in  favor  of  a  denominational  rather  than  a  State  college 
for  the  education  of  his  son.  Young  Hendricks  was  not 
yet  fully  prepared  to  enter  college,  and  was  enrolled  with 
seventy-one  others  in  the  preparatory  class.  From  the 
first  he  occupied  a  place  of  prominence  among  the  stud 
ents,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  prestige  or  wealth  of 
his  family,  but  because  of  his  native  ability,  his  obliging 
manners  and  his  gifts  of  a  social  nature. 
<^He  was  not  a  book-worm,  thougti  he  worked  hard  at 
his  tasks.  He  was  a  student  of  nature  and  of  men.  Per 
haps  his  greatest  triumphs  in  college  were  of  a  forensic 
kind,  for  he  was  a  leader  almost  without  a  rival  in  the 
debates  and  the  various  oratorical  exercises  of  the  literary 
society  of  Hanover^  The  college  was,  of  course,  for  boys 
only,  as  co-education  in  the  higher  departments  of  learn 
ing  was  in  that  day  unknown.  The  course  of  study  was 
strong  in  all  that  pertained  to  classic  lore,  though  defec 
tive  in  natural  science  and  modern  languages,  as  was  the 
case  with  all  other  colleges  of  the  time.  In  fact,  it  is 
surprising  to  note  the  amount  of  "required  work"  in 
Latin  and  Greek  in  the  curriculum.  The  institution  was 
strictly  a  "  church  college,"  and  was  conducted  on  denom 
inational  principles.  The  Bible  was  a  text-book  for  thor 
ough  study,  the  teachings  of  which  all  were  required 
to  recite.  All  Presbyterian  students  and  sons  of  Presby 
terian  parents  were  required,  in  addition,  to  commit  the 
Shorter  Catechism.  The  Greek  Testament  formed  a 
part  of  the  regular  course.  The  discipline  was  strict. 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  71 

Quarterly  reports  were  made  to  parents  or  guardians, 
concerning  the  advancement  and  deportment  of  every 
student.  . 

The  faculty  was  composed  of  able  men.  Rev.  John 
Witherspoon,  D.  D.,  had  been  chosen  to  succeed  Presi 
dent  Ely  the,  but  had  not  accepted  the  call.  Thus  there 
was  a  vacancy  in  the  presidency,  which  was  largely 
made  up  by  the  extra  work  and  care  of  Dr.  Crowe,  the 
professor  of  logic,  rhetoric,  political  economy  and  his 
tory.  Other  professors  were  John  H.  Harvey,  A.  M.  ; 
M.  A.  H.  Niles,  A.  M. ;  W.  M.  Dunn,  A.  M.  (since  Judge 
Advocate  General);  Noble  Butler,  A.  M.,  and  Charles 
K.  Thompson,  A.  B.  In  addition  to  these  were  two 
•tutors,  Minard  Sturgus  (subsequently  professor  of  Latin 
and  Greek)  and  S.  H.  Thompson  (subsequently  professor 
of  mathematics  and  natural  science). 

The  graphic  portrayal  of  college  life  in  the  earlier 
years  of  this  century  by  Jacob  Abbott,  in  The  Corner 
Stone,  seems  so  appropriate  to  the  days  at  Hanover  that 
it  is  here  produced,  somewhat  condensed,  as  follows  : 

"  Very  early  in  the  morning  the  observer  may  see 
lights  at  a  few  of  the  windows  of  the  buildings  inhabited 
by  the  students.  They  mark  the  rooms  occupied  by  the 
more  industrious  or  more  resolute,  who  rise  and  devote 
an  hour  or  two  to  their  books  by  lamp-light  on  the  win 
ter  mornings.  About  day  the  bell  awakens  the  multi 
tude  of  sleepers  in  all  the  rooms,  and  in  a  short  time  they 
are  to  be  seen  issuing  from  the  various  doors,  with  sleepy 
looks,  and  with  books  under  their  arms,  and  some  adjust 
ing  their  hurried  dress.  The  first  who  go  down  go 
slowly,  others  with  quicker  and  quicker  step,  as  the  toll 
ing  of  the  bell  proceeds  ; — and  the  last  few  stragglers  run 
with  all  speed,  to  secure  their  places  before  the  bell  ceases 
to  toll.  When  the  last  stroke  is  sounded,  it  usually  finds 
one  or  two  too  late,  who  stop  short  suddenly,  and  return 
slowly  to  their  rooms. 


72  HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

"  The  President  or  one  of  the  professors  reads  a  por 
tion  of  Scripture,  by  the  mingled  light  of  the  pulpit  lamps 
and  the  beams  which  come  in  from  the  reddening  eastern- 
sky.  He  then  offers  the  morning  prayer.  The  hundreds 
of  young  men  before  him  exhibit  the  appearance  of  re 
spectful  attention,  except  that  four  or  five,  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  in  different  parts  of  the  chapel,  are  looking 
carefully  around  to  observe  and  note  upon  their  bills  the 
absentees.  A  few  also,  not  fearing  God  or  regarding 
their  duty,  conceal  under  their  cloaks  or  behind  a  pillar 
or  a  partition  between  the  pews,  the  book  which  contains 
their  morning  lesson,  and  attempt  to  make  up,  as  well 
as  the  faint  but  increasing  light  will  enable  them,  for  the 
time  wasted  in  idleness  or  dissipation  on  the  evening  be 
fore.  When  prayers  are  over  the  several  classes  repair 
immediately  to  the  rooms  assigned  respectively  to  them, 
and  recite  the  first  lesson  of  the  day. 

"  During  the  short  period  which  elapses  between  the 
recitation  and  the  breakfast  bell,  college  is  a  busy  scene. 
Fires  are  kindling  in  every  room.  Groups  are  standing 
in  every  corner,  or  hovering  around  the  newly-made 
fires  ;  parties  are  running  up  and  down  the  stairs,  two- 
steps  at  a  time,  with  the  ardor  and  activity  of  youth ; 
and  now  and  then  a  fresh  crowd  is  seen  issuing  from  the 
door  of  some  one  of  the  buildings,  where  a  class  has  fin 
ished  its  recitation,  and  comes  forth  to  disperse  to  their 
rooms,  followed  by  their  instructor,  who  walks  away 
to  his  house  in  the  village. 

"An  hour  after  breakfast  the  bell  rings,  to  mark  the 
commencement  of  study-hours,  when  the  students  are 
required  by  college  laws  to  repair  to  their  respective  rooms, 
which  answer  the  three-fold  purpose  of  parlor,  bed-room, 
and  study,  to  prepare  for  their  recitation  at  eleven  o'clock. 
They,  however,  who  choose  to  evade  this  law,  can  do  it 
without  much  danger  of  detection.  The  great  majority 
comply,  but  some  go  into  their  neighbors'  rooms  to  re- 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  73 

ceive  assistance  in  their  studies  ;  some  lay  aside  the  dull 
text-book,  and  read  a  tale,  or  play  a  game :  and  others, 
farther  gone  in  the  road  of  idleness  and  dissipation,  steal 
secretly  away  from  the  college,  and  ramble  in  the  woods 
or  skate  upon  the  ice  or  find  rendezvous  of  dissipation 
in  the  village,  evading  their  tasks  like  truant  boys.  The}-, 
of  course,  are  marked  as  absent ;  but  pretended  sickness 
will  answer  for  an  excuse,  they  think,  once  or  twice  ;  and 
they  go  on,  blind  to  the  certainty  of  the  disgrace  and 
ruin  which  must  soon  come. 

"  The  alternoon  is  spent  like  the  forenoon,  and  the  last 
recitation  of  the  winter's  day  is  just  before  the  sun  goes 
down.  An  hour  is  allotted  to  it,  and  then  follow  evening 
prayers,  at  the  close  of  which  the  students  issue  from  the 
chapel  and  walk  in  long  procession  to  supper. 

"  It  is  in  the  evening,  however,  that  the  most  striking 
peculiarities  of  college  life  exhibit  themselves.  Some 
times  literary  societies  assemble,  organized  and  managed 
by  the  students,  where  they  hold  debates  or  entertain 
each  other  with  declamations,  essays,  and  dialogues. 
Sometimes  a  religious  meeting  is  held,  attended  by  a  por 
tion  of  the  professors  of  religion,  and  conducted  by  an 
officer.  At  other  times  the  students  remain  in  their  rooms, 
some  quietly  seated  by  their  fire,  one  on  each  side,  read 
ing,  writing,  or  preparing  the  lessons  for  the  following 
morning ;  others  assemble  for  mirth  and  dissipation,  or 
prowl  around  the  entries  and  halls,  to  perpetrate  petty 
mischief,  breaking  the  windows  of  some  hapless  Fresh 
man — or  burning  nauseous  drugs  at  the  keyhole  of  his 
door — or  rolling  logs  down  stairs,  and  running  instantly 
into  a  neighboring  room  so  as  to  escape  detection — or 
watching  at  an  upper  window  to  pour  water  unobserved 
upon  some  fellow  student  passing  in  or  out  below — or 
plugging  up  the  keyhole  of  the  chapel  door,  to  prevent 
access  to  it  for  morning  prayers — or  gaining  access  to 
the  bell  by  false  keys,  and  cutting  the  rope,  or  filling  it 


74  HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

with  water  to  freeze  during  the  night — or  some  other  of 
the  thousand  modes  of  doing  mischief  to  which  the  idle 
and  flexible  Sophomore  is  instigated  by  some  calculating 
and  malicious  mischief-maker  in  a  higher  class.'' 

At  that  early  age  the  character  of  young  Hendricks 
was  thoroughly  formed  for  good.  His  gentlemanly  in 
stincts  would  not  have  permitted  him  to  commit  an 
unworthy  act  or  to  connive  at  a  wrong.  But  more  than 
that,  his  life  was  guided  by  religious  convictions.  None 
ever  appreciated  more  than  he,  in  later  years,  the  value 
of  the  pious  counsels  of  a  Christian  home,  or  the  influ 
ence  of  early  training  upon  the  mind  and  heart.  Probably 
no  student  at  the  college  was  more  regular  or  strict  in  all 
religious  observances  than  he.  Mr.  Hendricks  possessed 
even  in  youth  the  elements  of  influence  over  others,  and 
it  must  be  said  to  his  honor  that  the  influence  he  wielded 
was  ever  in  favor  of  the  right,  as  he  understood  it. 

Governor  Porter,  who  was  a  fellow  student  of  Mr. 
Hendricks  at  college,  once  remarked:  "I  shall  never 
forget  his  notice  of  me  on  one  occasion.  I  had  just  de 
livered  a  select  declamation,  and  in  his  gentle,  winning 
way  he  approached  me  and  spoke  a  few  words  of  encour 
agement.  He  was  then  about  twenty  years  old,  and  I 
was  fifteen."  Another  of  his  college  fellows  remarks : 
"  He  was  only  an  average  student,  but  he  excelled  as  a 
debater,  and  in  general  information  ranked  as  the  best 
posted  man  in  college.  Unlike  some  of  us  who  had  to 
work  our  way  through,  he  had  plenty  of  money — though 
I  am  not  aware  that  he  ever  "put  on  airs,"  or  felt  him 
self  above  us.  On  the  contrary,  he  exhibited  much  of 
the  urbanity  that  always  characterized  him  through  life  ; 
and  I  know  not  how  he  acquired  such  excellent  manners 
and  easy  elocution,  unless  it  was  by  coming  in  contact 
with  so  many  men  of  culture  who  visited  his  father's 
house."  Mr.  Hendricks  as  a  student  possessed  the  men 
tal  characteristics  of  a  person  of  maturer  years.  As  a 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  75 

freshman  he  was  a  chosen  associate  of  the  seniors.  "  He 
was  a  man  at  eighteen." 

Aside  from  its  opportunities  for  intellectual  culture, 
Hanover  was  a  delightful  residence  for  college  students. 
Mention  has  been  made  of  the  scenic  beauty  of  the  envi 
rons.  Nature  was  in  her  happiest  mood  when  those 
surroundings  were  formed.  One  may  search  in  vain  in 
many  States  for  such  a  panorama  of  cliff  and  headland, 
winding  river  and  cascade,  forest  and  plain.  Numerous 
were  the  resorts  for  the  boys  in  hours  of  recreation. 
Among  the  waterfalls  are  Clifty,  Deadman's,  Crow, 
Butler,  Chain  Mill,  One  and  Two.  Cedar  Cliff,  at 
Brownsburg,  Marble  Hill,  Monument  Point  and  Plow- 
handle  Point  are  noted  headlands.  On  Graham's  Creek 
are  several  small  caves.  The  source  of  the  creek  is  a 
remarkable  never  failing  spring.  Fair  Prospect  was  the 
home  of  Captain  George  Logan,  well  known  to  the  col 
lege  boys  of  two  or  three  generations.  A  chain  mill  of 
singular  construction  was  a  noteworthy  feature  of  the 
vicinity.  The  river  was  a  favorite  resort  for  boating, 
bathing,  swimming  and  fishing.  On  the  strand,  in  the 
shadow  of  overhanging  rocks,  were  favorite  walks  and 
nooks  for  quiet  study.  In  the  soft  rocks  of  the  cliffs  were 
cut  the  names  of  hundreds  of  boys.  Among  the  games 
played  upon  the  green  was  the  old  pastime  of  "  three  old 
cat"  (three  hole  catch),  which  was  the  basis  of  our  later 
national  game,  having  developed  into  the  base-ball  in 
later  days. 

Mr.  Hendricks  completed  his  preparatory  studies  dur 
ing  the  first  year  and  returned  home  at  the  close,  having 
won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  the  faculty  and  the 
affectionate  regard  of  his  fellow  students.  He  came  back 
next  year,  and  was  regularly  enrolled  as  a  member  of 
the  freshman  class — the  class  of  1841.  This  was  the  first 
of  a  series  of  years  of  disaster  and  discouragement  to  the 
college.  A  terrible  tornado  swept  over  the  country,  car- 


76  HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

rying  destruction  in  its  path.  Trees  were  uprooted,  and 
houses  were  unroofed.  It  seemed  that  the  college  build 
ing  was  doomed  to  destruction,  and  indeed  it  narrowly 
escaped  utter  demolition.  The  upper  part  of  the  structure 
was  ruined,  and  it  was  deemed  best  not  to  rebuild  it, 
especially  since  the  dormitory  plan  had  fallen  into  dis 
favor  and  the  room  was  not  needed.  Accordingly  the 
debris  of  the  wrecked  rooms  was  cleared  away,  and  the 
side  walls  leveled  at  the  tops  of  the  second-story  win 
dows,  preparatory  to  putting  on  a  new  roof.  Three  of 
the  five  windows  above  were  left  in  front,  to  light  the 
attic.  It  was  thus  that  the  old  college  is  best  known. 
Odd  looking  to  begin  with,  it  was  now  especially  singu 
lar  in  its  appearance.  The  manual  labor  system  proved 
a  failure,  and  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  college  was  in 
debt,  and  it  was  only  by  the  most  self-sacrificing  zeal  and 
determination  of  the  faculty  that  the  institution  main 
tained  itself.  Rev.  John  Matthews,  D.  D.,  was  now 
acting  president,  as  he  had  been  during  a  portion  of  the 
preceding  year.  He  was  succeeded  next  year  by  Rev. 
Duncan  Macauley,  D.  D.,  who  in  turn  was  followed  in 
the  same  year  by  Rev.  E.  D.  MacMasters,  D.  D. 

Life  at  college  is  apt  to  be  uneventful  and  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  Vacations  were 
spent  at  home  or  at  his  uncle's.  Year  by  year  he  was 
promoted,  with  honorable  rank,  to  the  class  above.  The 
number  of  students  was  small,  since  the  failure  of  the 
manual  labor  system.  The  class  of  i84i,  which  started 
out  in  the  preparatory  year  with  a  membership  of  seventy- 
two,  dwindled  down  to  four  members.  The  class  con 
sisted  of  Charles  M.  Hays,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  John 
Lyle  King  and  George  Caldwell  Lyon.  The  first  of  these 
became  a  lawyer  of  Pittsburg,  the  third  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  Chicago  bar,  and  the  fourth  a  physician 
of  Liberty,  Miss.  Mr.  King  is  the  only  one  of  the  four 
who  now  survives. 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  77 

Mr.  Hendricks  completed  the  course,  but  was,  unfortu 
nately,  absent  for  about  three  months  of  the  last  year,  on 
account  of  sickness  in  his  father's  family,  and  failed  in 
consequence  to  receive  his  diploma  with  the  rest.  Later, 
however,  it  was  deemed  just  that  he  should  be  given  the 
diploma  in  spite  of  the  rules  regarding  absence,  and  he 
was  enrolled  with  the  boys  of  1841  upon  the  list  of 
alumni. 

The  Hanover  College  of  to-day  is  much  changed.  The 
old  college  building  has  been  again  transformed,  and  is 
made  over  into  a  very  tasteful  church — the  old  walls  be 
ing  permitted  to  do  service  in  the  new  building  so  far  as 
possible,  as  a  matter  of  sentiment.  The  new  college  is 
not  built  in  the  old  village,  but  on  The  Point — now  called 
College  Point — overlooking  the  river,  and  commanding 
a  view  for  many  miles  up  and  down  the  stream.  Where 
the  river  was,  there  would  the  boys  be.  The  river  could 
not  come  to  the  college,  therefore  the  college  went  to  the 
river.  Girls  are  now  admitted  on  an  equal  footing  with 
boys,  to  all  departments.  The  old  professors  have  passed 
away  long  since,  to  their  reward.  Yet  the  spirit  of  col 
lege  life  is  much  the  same  at  all  times.  The  scenery  is 
little  changed,  and  the  following  letter,  recently  written 
by  a  Hanover  boy  to  the  Indianapolis  News,  gives  but  a 
new  picture  of  the  old  time  scenes  : 

66  If  any  person  who  has  never  been  here  could  be 
blindfolded  and  transported  to  the  midst  of  some  of  the 
wild  scenery  around  this  village,  he  would  imagine  on 
opening  his  eyes  that  he  was  in  some  of  the  scenery  that 
is  famous  throughout  the  country.  Within  a  distance  of 
five  miles  along  the  bluff  of  the  Ohio,  there  are  not  less 
than  seven  or  eight  waterfalls,  varying  in  height  from 
fifty  to  eighty  feet.  These  figures  refer  to  the  actual 
height  or  depth  of  the  fall.  The  cliffs  rise  to  a  greater 
height  on  either  side,  the  water  having  worn  the  rocky 
edges  into  a  series  of  cascades  before  making  the  last 


78  HANOVER    COLLEGE. 

and  greatest  leap.  Farthest  down  from  the  village  is 
Hearts  Falls.  Here,  in  an  overhanging  part  of  the  cliff, 
the  limestone  has  been  hollowed  out  in  some  way  in  the 
form  of  hearts,  which  fact  gave  the  name  to  the  falls. 
Unfortunately,  the  same  causes  which  created  the  cavities 
are  still  at  work,  and  the  result  is  that  all  resemblance  to 
hearts  will  soon  be  lost.  The  action  of  the  atmosphere 
produces  another  singular  effect — that  of  decomposing 
ledges  of  rock  in  the  cliff  in  such  a  way  that  it  appears 
to  be  the  work  of  waves  in  past  ages.  Indeed,  this  cause 
is  gravely  put  forth  as  a  theory  by  many  visitors,  but  they 
fail  to  note  that  some  names  painted  on  the  rocks,  cer 
tainly  not  of  antediluvian  date,  are  disappearing  in  a 
way  that  is  rather  shattering  to  their  argument. 

"  The  students  of  the  college  at  Hanover  have  for  many 
years  made  use  of  these  falls  to  bring  their  names,  for  a 
time  at  least,  before  the  public.  At  Butler's  Falls,  but  a 
half  mile  or  so  from  the  village,  three  ambitious  students 
one  day  decided  to  head  the  list  of  names  scattered  over 
the  side  of  the  cliff.  Accordingly  they  procured  a  rope 
and  a  pot  of  paint,  and  swung  one  of  their  number  over 
the  brink.  While  dangling  in  the  air,  he  managed  to 
scrawl  their  initials  upon  the  rock.  Upon  drawing  him 
up,  his  comrades,  either  through  awkwardness  or  with 
malice  aforethought,  got  him  under  the  stream  of  water 
and  treated  him  to  a  gratuitous  shower-bath. 

"  Old  students  going  back  to  Hanover  will  miss  one  of 
the  most  famous  of  all  the  old  time  land-marks  and  curi 
osities.  Chain  mill  has  been  torn  down  and  carted 
away.  Right  on  the  brink  of  the  falls  the  mill  build 
ing  stood,  and  the  motive  power  was  furnished  by  a 
novel  contrivance  which,  it  is  safe  to  say,  one  would  have 
difficulty  in  finding  duplicated.  An  opening  was  blasted 
through  the  overhanging  ledge,  and  through  this  there 
passed  an  endless  chain  of  buckets.  As  the  buckets  filled 
with  water  they  went  down,  of  course,  and  of  their  own 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  7& 

weight  turned  a  huge  wheel.  At  the  bottom  they  upset, 
and  came  up  empty.  Daring  students  used  to  climb 
down  the  chain  when  the  mill  was  idle,  and  thereby 
caused  the  miller  much  vexation  of  spirit,  as  he  was  liable 
at  any  time  to  have  a  corpse  on  his  hands,  to  say  nothing 
of  damages  to  the  buckets.  A  young  man  once  under 
took  the  descent  without  first  ascertaining  whether  the 
wheel  was  blocked — which  it  was  not.  Consequently  he 
descended  with  rather  more  precipitancy  and  eclat  than 
he  calculated  upon.  Very  wroth  was  the  miller,  who 
lived  near  at  hand,  upon  hearing  the  creaking  of  the 
machinery  and  conjecturing  the  cause.  Leaning  over 
the  brink  he  proceeded  to  launch  a  philippic  upon  the 
head  of  the  aeronaut  below.  Somewhat  faintly  came  up 
the  following  response : 

'  Well,  you  see,  I  didn't  know — I  thought — I   didn't 
know — ' 

i  Yes,  I  see  you  didn't  know,'  roared  the  miller.  '  You 
don't  know  anything.  You  are  a  hopeless  idiot ! ' 

"  The  village  of  Hanover  is  a  beautiful  place,  especially 
during  the  summer.  The  main  street  is  overshadowed 
with  huge  elms.  The  college  building  is  located  upon  The 
Point,  a  part  of  the  bluff  with  a  deep  gorge  on  each 
side  and  looking  down  upon  the  Ohio,  some  four  hun 
dred  feet  below.  From  the  college  cupola  one  can  see 
the  city  of  Madison,  five  miles  above,  in  a  line ;  and 
looking  down,  the  river  can  be  traced  for  many  miles, 
until  in  its  last  curve  it  looks  like  a  lake  in  the  hills. 
When  the  river  is  at  a  fair  stage,  there  are  steamboats 
passing  up  and  down  at  all  hours  of  day  and  night.  To 
one  who  has  lived  for  years  within  hearing  of  their  deep, 
sonorous  whistles,  answering  to  each  other  and  echoing 
from  bluff  to  bluff,  there  is  a  positive  sense  of  regret  at 
being  located  at  a  distance  from  the  river  ;  and  one  hears 
the  familiar  sound,  after  an  absence,  much  as  he  would 
recognize  the  voice  of  an  old  friend. 


HANOVER    COLLEGE. 


6  The  approaches  to  Hanover  are  interesting,  unless  you 
make  a  flank  movement  and  come  up  by  stage,  ten  miles, 
from  Lexington.  Coming  in  by  way  of  Madison  affords 
one  the  novelty  of  a  trip  down  one  of  the  steepest  railroad 
grades  in  the  country,  three  hundred  and  twelve  feet  to 
the  mile,  through  a  deep  cut  in  the  bluff.  The  entire  height 
of  the  hill  is  four  hundred  and  sixteen  feet.  Formerly  it 
was  customary  to  cut  loose  the  engine  at  the  summit  and 
allow  the  train  to  descend  by  its  own  weight,  it  being  held 
in  check  by  the  brakes  ;  but  on  one  or  two  occasions 
there  was  some  hitch  in  the  machinery,  which  rendered 
the  brakes  of  no  avail,  and  the  cais  distributed  themselves 
and  their  contents  over  the  region  contiguous  to  the  base 
of  the  hill.  Fortunately,  there  was  no  one  on  board  on 
the  occasion  except  a  drove  of  hogs,  and  they  were 
speedily  reduced  to  sausage  meat ;  and  some  parties  were 
unreasonable  enough  to  assert  that  this  would  be  the  fate 
of  human  passengers,  some  day,  without  any  hope  of  the 
miscellaneous  remains  being  utilized.  So  the  accommo 
dating  railroad  company  had  an  immense  engine  built, 
which  has  sufficient  weight  to  hold  a  train  in  check  with 
out  its  wheels  slipping.  From  Madison  to  Hanover  the 
drive  is  very  nne  ;  the  road  ascends  the  hill,  gradually 
winding  in  and  out  the  ravine,  until  after  a  six  miles'  ride 
the  village  is  reached.  Fishing  is  good  in  the  river,  and 
there  is  an  excellent  pebbly  beach  for  bathers,  although 
a  treacherous  'step  off'  has  caused  more  than  one  death. 
The  hunting  is  also  good  in  the  woods  near  Hanover." 

Once  when  Governor,  after  the  lapse  of  about  a  third  of 
a  century  since  his  graduation,  Mr.  Hendricks  visited 
the  old  college  at  commencement  time,  and  delivered  an 
address  to  the  students  and  visitors.  What  a  college 
education  may  or  may  not  do  for  a  man,  accordingly  as 
he  uses  or  abuses  its  advantages,  was  a  theme  which  he 
developed  strikingly  and  beautifully.  He  portrayed  viv 
idly  three  classes  of  college  men,  illustrating  each  with 


HANOVER    COLLEGE.  81 

the  life  story  of  a  fellow  student  of  old  time,  showing 
what  each  of  the  three  boys  had  done  with  his  opportu 
nities.  In  his  travels  in  California,  the  speaker  had  met 
the  brilliant  leader  of  the  old  students,  a  fascinating  young 
man  of  rarest  natural  endowments  and  brilliant  prospects 
in  youth,  now  an  abandoned  wreck  without  home,  for 
tune  or  friends.  Two  others,  of  less  promise  in  college 
days,  illustrated  success  ;  one  in  a  splendid  public  career, 
the  other  in  a  less  conspicuous  course  of  life.  Memories 
of  college  days  were  always  very  dear  to  Mr.  Hendricks  ; 
and  his  instructors,  his  fellow  students,  and  especially  his 
class-mates,  were  always  cherished  by  him  with  deep  af 
fection.  Hanover  was  to  him  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
term,  as  it  has  been  to  so  many  others  of  worth  and  fame, 
an  Alma  Mater. 


CHAPTER  V. 

STUDY   AND    PRACTICE    OF   THE    LAW. 

The  close  of  college  life  found  Mr.  Hendricks  again  at 
his  old  home  to  the  east  of  Shelbyville,  enjoying  the 
association  of  old  neighbors  and  the  scenes  of  early 
years.  Arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  it  was  time  to 
choose  his  vocation  in  life.  His  relatives  among  both  the 
Hendrickses  and  the  Thomsons  had  achieved  honor  and 
distinction  in  the  profession  of  law ;  and  to  this  he  had 
been  predisposed  from  childhood,  proving  an  interested 
observer  and  auditor  in  the  legal  contests  at  the  court 
house,  even  at  the  age  often  years.  He  determined  to  be 
an  attorney,  and  earnestly  set  about  the  preparation  for 
his  life-work. 

(  In  1842  he  commenced  to  read  law  in  the  office  of  Ste 
phen  Major,  a  young  and  brilliant  lawyer,  nine  years  his 
senior,  who  had  resided  in  Shelbyville  since  1834,  and 
had  been  for  six  years  a  practitioner  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Indiana.^  Mr.  Major  was  an  interesting  person 
age.  By  birth  an  Irishman,  he  was  descended  from  the 
Scots  who  entered  the  Green  Isle  under  Cromwell ;  and 
he  traced  a  still  more  remote  ancestry  among  the  old 
Norman  conquerors.  He  was  possessed  of  the  spirit, 
the  dash,  the  eloquence  of  the  Irish,  with  the  applica 
tion  and  perseverance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  A  close 
intimacy  existed  between  the  two  young  men  in  the  law 
office.  Hendricks  was  by  far  the  more  scholarly,  while 
Major  possessed  a  world  of  tact  and  experience.  Having 
confidence  in  his  powers,  the  latter  determined,  ere  long, 

(82) 


STUDY    AND    PRACTICE    OF    THE    LAV/.  S3 

to  remove  to  Indianapolis.  This  he  did  in  1843.  Ten 
years  later  he  was  commissioned  by  Governor  Whitcomb 
as  Judge  of  the  Indianapolis  circuit.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  in  1864  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  on  motion  of 
a  Senator,  and  that  that  senator  was  his  former  student 
and  associate  in  the  law  office  at  Shelbyville. 

Before  the  removal  of  Mr.  Major,  Mr.  Hendricks  de 
termined  ta  pursue  his  studies  in  a  systematic  manner 
and  to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  offered  in  profes 
sional  schools.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  mother,  he  re 
paired  to  Chambersburg,  in  southern  Pennsylvania,  and 
entered  the  law  school  of  his  uncle,  Judge  Alexander 
Thomson.  Nominally  this  school  was  an  attachment  of 
the  Gettysburg  College,  an  old  Evangelical  German  insti 
tution  of  excellent  reputation,  which  essayed  to  build  up 
on  the  university  plan.  It  was  fitting  that  its  embryonic 
Law  Department  was  located  at  Chambersburg  rather 
than  at  the  village  where  the  old  college  stood,  for  the 
former  place  was  noted  for  the  high  character  and  repu 
tation  of  its  bench  and  bar.  ^The  journey  to  Chambers 
burg  was  made  in  the  spring  of  1848.  The  law  student 
possessed  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  in  silver,  and 
with  this  amount  he  set  out  for  the  East.  He  repaired  to 
Lawrenceburg,  and  there  took  a  steamer  for  Cincinnati. 
He  remained  for  a  short  time  at  the  Queen  City,  and  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life  visited  a  theater,  where  he  had 
the  pleasure  of  witnessing  a  play  by  Edward  S.  Connor. 
Again  embarking  upon  the  Ohio,  he  sped  up  the  river  to 
Pittsburg,  and  thence  traversed  the  mountain  region  to 
the  old  border  town  in  which  the  school  was  conducted^ 

Alexander  Thomson,  the  instructor  in  lav/,  was  a  man  of 
high  ability  and  thorough  legal  training.  He  had  been 
President  Judge  of  the  Sixteenth  Judicial  District,  com 
prising  Franklin,  Somerset,  Fulton  and  Bedford  coun 
ties,  and  since  his  retirement  had  made  of  his  well-filled 


84          STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW. 

library  the  law  school,  which  merited  celebrity  and  was 
well  patronized. 

He  was  a  former  resident  of  Bedford  county,  but  dur 
ing  his  official  term  (1827  to  1841)  and  since  had  resided 
in  Chambersburg.  His  home  was  a  large  and  well  ap 
pointed  stone  mansion  on  South  Main  street.  Against 
the  north  end  of  this  stood  a  white  frame  building  of  one 
story,  containing  four  rooms  and  presenting  two  doors  to 
the  street.  The  two  south  rooms  were  used  by  the  law 
school.  The  apartment  opening  on  the  street  was  a  gen 
eral  office,  and  a  rear  chamber  served  for  a  consultation 
room.  The  Judge  was  a  large,  handsome  man  of  the  old 
school,  a  man  of  remarkable  power  and  of  popular  ad 
dress.  He  always  wore  a  ruffled  shirt,  and  was  religiously 
faithful  in  his  use  of  the  razor  and  brush.  He  conversed 
on  all  subjects,  and  was  intimately  acquainted  with  many 
of  the  most  eminent  statesmen  of  his  day.  He  was  care 
ful  in  the  smallest  details  of  his  work,  and  had  a  compre 
hensive  grasp  of  the  law  in  all  its  bearings.  He  was  the 
students'  ideal  of  the  Judge,  the  advocate  and  the  man. 

The  schools  for  legal  training  in  that  day  were  much  like 
other  schools.  Authors  were  studied  as  text-books,  and 
the  catechetical  method  of  recitation  was  employed.  The 
tendency  of  such  teaching  was  to  cultivate  exactness  and 
systematic  method  of  thought  and  expression.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  remained  through  the  spring,  summer,  and  part 
of  the  fall  of  1843.  Every  moment  was  full  of  improve 
ment  to  the  professor's  nephew,  who  studied  not  only  the 
professional  course,  but  also  the  county  and  its  people. 

John  Reges  was  the  deputy  Register  and  Recorder  of 
the  county  for  six  years,  and  afterward  the  head  of  the 
office.  He  states  that  Judge  Thomson  required  his  stu 
dents  to  copy  every  record  in  the  register's  office,  of  each 
cause  in  which  he  was  engaged;  that  Mr.  Hendricks 
and  the  other  students  often  sat  for  hours  at  a  time  in  the 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.          85 

court  house,  copying  entries  relating  to  their  preceptor's 
professional  work. 

"Without  doubt,"  he  adds,  "they  received  enough  of 
the  practical  in  their  study  of  the  law." 

Mr.  J.  M.  Cooper,  an  eminent  citizen  of  Pennsylvania, 
remarked  sometime  since  as  follows  :  "I  remember  the 
good  impression  Hendricks  made  on  all  who  met  him  at 
that  time.  ^He  was  then  physically  rather  small^  His 
features  have  undergone  a  great  change  in  the  forty-three 
years  since  he  was  in  Chambersburg,  and  in  the  Vice- 
President  hardly  one  trace  remains  of  the  young  law  stu 
dent.  He  was  of  a  very  pleasant  disposition,  and  won 
the  good  will,  as  I  have  said,  of  all  he  met. 

"  Mr.  Hendricks  has  a  rather  vivid  recollection  of  his 
sojourn  at  Chambersburg.  I  talked  with  him  in  Wash 
ington,  in  1860,  about  it,  and  he  spoke  of  it  as  a  pleasant 
episode  in  his  life,  and  made  friendly  inquiries  about 
many  people  with  whom  he  had  been  acquainted  there. 

"  That  little  spot  of  ground  measuring  sixty  or  seventy 
feet  along  Main  street,  from  Lortz  and  Wolfinger's  cor 
ner  southwest,  seems  to  have  been  a  good  point  from 
which  to  start  in  the  race  for  renown.  Two  men,  Hen 
dricks  and  Baker,  went  thence  to  become  Governors  of 
Indiana ;  two,  Hendricks  and  John  Scott,  to  become 
United  States  Senators;  one,  Experience  Estabrook,  to 
be  a  Congressman  from  New  York.  These  men  were 
all  in  Chambersburg  at  the  same  time.  Another  fellow 
student  of  Hendricks's  was  Col.  Samuel  H.  Tate,  of  Bed 
ford,  who  became  Prothonotary  of  Bedford  county,  and 
might  have  gone  to  Congress  if  he  had  lived  a  few  years 
longer,  as  he  was  very  popular  and  influential." 

As  a  recreation  from  his  work,  Mr.  Hendricks  here  de 
voted  himself  to  the  reading  of  Shakspeare,  noting  crit 
ically  the  variations  of  the  text,  and  the  force  and  aptness 
of  expression  of  the  great  dramatist.  Judge  Jere  S.  Black 


STUDY    AND    PRACTICE    OF    THE    LAV/. 

had  succeeded  Judge  Thomson  on  the  bench  in  that 
circuit,  and  the  law  student  became  intimately  acquainted 
with  that  noted  jurist  and  scholar.  Judge  Black  was  one 
of  the  best  Shakspearean  critics  of  his  day,  and  was  de 
lighted  to  rind  in  the  person  of  his  predecessor's  nephew 
an  equally  enthusiastic  student  of  the  poet.  Before  re- 
cuming  to  Indiana,  Mr.  Hendricks  visited  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  where  he  had  the  pleasure  of  listening  re 
peatedly  to  Forrest,  who  filled  a  series  of  engagements. 
He  remained  a  week  in  the  Quaker  city,  visiting  and 
studying  the  various  points  of  interest.  He  spent  an  en 
tire  day  at  Girard  College,  noting  particularly  the  archi 
tecture  of  the  buildings  and  the  economy  of  the  institu 
tion.  In  his  later  years  (1881),  Mr.  Hendricks  expressed 
himself  as  follows,  in  an  interview  with  Mr.  Townsend, 
of  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer: 

"  I  remained  in  Chambersburg  only  eight  months,  but 
to  me  it  was  a  very  great  event  in  my  life.  Brought  up 
on  the  flat  prairies  and  woods  of  Indiana,  I  had  never 
seen  such  beautiful  mountains  and  dashing  streams  as 
were  in  that  old  Cumberland  valley.  To  this  day  it  seems 
to  me  a  vision  of  beauty.  There  were  numerous  large 
towns  right  about  us.  There  was  Hagerstown,  amid  the 
blue  and  golden  scenery  of  Maryland  ;  and  Shippens- 
burg,  which  was  a  bright,  active  young  place ;  and  Car 
lisle,  which  was  one  of  the  old  forts  in  the  valley  and  a 
military  post.  Our  law  studies  were  examinations  chiefly, 
not  lectures  on  the  law.  The  land  possessed  to  me  a  sort 
of  patriotism.  The  Thomsons,  Agnews,  Wylies  and 
other  Scotch  families  there  were  blood  connections  of  my 
mother.  I  suppose  this  Dr.  Agnew  now  attending  on 
poor  President  Garfield  is  of  that  general  family." 

Mr.  Hendricks  returned  to  Shelby ville  in  the  fall,  with 
only  a  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  left  of  his  money.  He 
found  himself  a  week  too  late  for  the  regular  fall  examin- 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.         87 

ation  for  admission  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but 
was  given  an  examination  by  the  Circuit  Judges,  among 
whom  were  James  Whitcomb,  Tilghman  A.  Howard,  and 
Joseph  A.  Wright.  He  was  at  once  admitted  to  practice, 
and  established  an  office  of  his  own,  starting  out  inde 
pendently. 

It  is  usually  difficult  for  young  men  to  build  up  speedy 
reputations  in  the  professions  in  the  home  of  their  child 
hood.  The  community  are  slow  to  learn  that  boyhood 
has  merged  into  manhood.  So  it  seemed  for  a  time  to 
the  young  attorney  at  Shelbyville.  For  many  days  he 
was  a  "briefless  barrister,"  and  the  time  dragged  slowly 
in  the  office.  Jacob  Vernon  was  clerk  of  the  court,  and 
gave  him  his  first  law  business.  It  was  the  settlement  of 
a  small  estate.  The  work  received  prompt  and  careful 
attention,  and  was  the  means  of  bringing  in  other  prac 
tice. 

His  first  cause  was  tried  before  'Squire  Lee.  Nathan 
Powell,  the  son  of  an  old  neighbor,  Major  Powell,  was 
his  opponent.  The  two  young  men  were  nearly  of  an 
age,  had  grown  up  together,  finished  their  school  educa 
tion  in  the  same  year,  and  opened  their  law  offices  within 
a  few  days  of  each  other.  The  cause  was  a  trivial  one, 
and  each  volunteered  his  services,  it  being  the  first  effort 
of  young  Powell,  as  well  as  of  Hendricks.  The  'Squire's 
office  was  crowded,  and  a  prize  in  the  form  of  a  "  treat " 
of  fine  apples  was  to  be  given  to  the  victor  by  an  enthu 
siastic  spectator.  The  contest  was  animated.  Hendricks 
won  the  case,  and  gracefully  served  the  apples  to  the 
friends  who  were  present,  not  neglecting  to  compliment 
his  opponent,  who  had  done  well,  or  to  share  with  him 
\hefruits  of  victory. 

At  about  this  time  Martin  M.  Ray,  a  young  Whig  attor 
ney,  settled  in  the  town.  He  was  a  man  of  quick  wit,  of 
high  ability,  and  of  strong  individuality.  Personal  friends, 
they  were  opposed  in  practice  as  well  as  in  politics.  Their 


88 


STUDY    AND    PRACTICE    OF    THE    LAW. 


causes   at  first  were  mainly  tried  before  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  and  here  they  were  brought  in  contact  innumer 
able  times,  while  crowds  gathered  to  observe  the  contests. 
In  law  they  were  well  matched.     Into  the  political  field 
Mr.  Hendricks  had  not  yet  ventured  publicly,  though  Ray 
had  spoken  repeatedly  on  the  "  stump"  for  the  Whigs. 
Business  soon  came  in  larger  measure  to  Mr.  Hendricks. 
Preferring  naturally  to  defend  rather  than  to  prosecute,  he 
was  yet  ready  to  take  the  aggressive  side  against  wrong. 
Twice  in  his  early  practice  he  volunteered  to  conduct  the 
prosecution.    Once,  as  he  was  walking  to  the  court  house, 
a  colored  man  appealed  to  him  for  protection,  being  pur 
sued  by  a  burly  fellow  who  was  threatening  to  "  teach  the 
d— n  nigger"  to  speak  to  him  on  the  street.     The  young 
lawyer  inquired  if  a  friendly  salute  was  the  colored  man's 
sole  offense,  and  was   answered  in  the  affirmative.     He 
then   assured  the  assailant  that  he  would  "teach"  him 
something.     He  procured  an  indictment,  prosecuted  the 
offender,  and  had  the  latter  sent  to  jail,  all  in  less  than 
two  hours.     This  mode  of  punishment  for  assault   and 
battery  was  without  precedent  in   that  county,  but  Mr. 
Hendricks  had  called  the  jury's  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  assault  on  a  colored   man  was  the  more  to  be  con 
demned  because  of  the  inequality  of  the  two  men ;  that 
the  negro  was  practically  a  victim  with  his   hands  tied,, 
since  he  dared  not  retaliate   upon   a  white  man.     The 
other  instance  was  one  in  which  a  wealthy  and  well- 
known  citizen  had  connived  at  robber}-,  receiving  and 
concealing  stolen  horses  and  goods.     It  was  feared  that 
the  culprit's  money  and  influence  would  secure  his   es 
cape.     The  young  attorney  took  the  cause  in  hand,  and 
secured  a  verdict  of  guilty  against  the  malefactor,  send 
ing  him  to  the  penitentiary.     The  convict  was  released, 
on  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court,  through  a  technicality  ;, 
but  a  useful  lesson  was  impressed  upon  the  community. 
Many  are  the  anecdotes  told  concerning  this  early  prac- 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.          89 

tice.  On  the  last  night  of  his  life,  while  at  the  reception 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  J.  Cooper,  of  Indianapolis,  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  presented  by  Mr.  Ross  Clark  to  some 
friends  from  abroad,  and  they  expressed  surprise  at  his 
youthful  appearance  ;  whereupon  the  Vice-President  re 
lated  the  following  anecdote  of  his  early  practice : 

"When  I  was  a  young  lawyer,  practicing  in  Shelby 
county,  I  went  out  into  the  country  to  try  a  law  suit  be 
fore  a  justice.  The  attorney  on  the  opposite  side  was  an 
ex-judge,  seventy  years  old.  His  head  was  silvered  with 
gray  hairs,  but  he  was  as  youthful  and  sprightly  as  I  was 
myself.  When  the  case  was  finished  and  we  were  wait 
ing  for  the  verdict,  I  asked  the  Judge  if  he  would  tell  me 
by  what  means  he  had  clung  to  his  youth.  The  Judge 
took  from  his  pocket-book  a  scrap  of  poetry  which  was 
yellow  with  age,  and  which  he  had  evidently  carried  for 
years,  and  began  to  read  the  poem,  which  was  entitled 
*  Keep  the  Heart  Young.'  The  burden  of  this  was,  the 
heart  must  be  kept  young  by  keeping  up  the  enthusiasm 
of  youth  throughout  all  the  work  of  life. 

"  I  was  greatly  impressed  with  this  poem,"  the  speaker 
concluded,  "  and  whenever  I  can  not  go  to  my  work  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  vouth,  I  am  ready  to  die,  and  want  to 
die." 

The  lawyer  of  twenty-four  years  was  courageous,  de 
termined  and  industrious.  A  biographer,  referring  to 
the  beginning  of  his  practice,  remarks  : 

"  His  success  was  rapid  and  well  earned.  There  was 
a  charm  about  him  that  won  him  hosts  of  friends.  He 
was  pure  in  morals,  and  not  merely  upright  in  character, 
but  solicitous  to  preserve  himself  from  even  the  appear 
ance  of  evil." 

His  early  speeches  in  court  were  by  no  means  free 
from  the  minor  faults  into  which  young  attorneys  are  apt 


90         STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW. 

to  fall.    It  is  related  that  an  old  friend  who  loitered  about 
the  court  house  one  day  said  to  him  : 

"Thomas,  I  heard  the  speech  you  made  yesterday, 
and  I  heard  the  speech  you  made  to-day.  I  liked 
your  speech  to-day  much  better.  In  your  speech  to 
day  you  said  '  Gentlemen  of  the  jury '  only  twenty- 
two  times.  Yesterday  you  said  it  forty-three  times,  be 
ginning  and  ending  one  sentence  with  '  Gentlemen  of 
the  jury.'" 

Mention  has  been  made  by  a  biographer  of  an  oration 
which  Mr.  Hendricks  pronounced  in  Johnny  Young's 
Grove,  on  the  occasion  of  a  Fourth  of  July  barbecue.  It 
was  well  received,  and  added  to  his  reputation  as  a  public 
speaker.  Two  years  later  (1844)  Captain  Nathan  Early- 
wine,  a  Whig  politician,  was  invited  to  deliver  the  an 
nual  address,  and  came  to  Mr.  Hendricks  to  borrow  his 
oration  delivered  in  1842,  suggesting  that  the  latter 
might  make  some  alterations  and  additions  suitable  to 
the  time.  Mr.  Hendricks  good  humoredly  entered  into 
the  plan,  and  inserted  some  sound  Democratic  sentiments 
on  the  Oregon  question.  To  these  the  obtuse  Earlywine 
gave  emphatic  utterance  with  all  confidence,  which  caused 
his  Whig  friends  to  open  their  eyes  and  ears  wide,  and 
the  Democrats  to  indulge  in  unseemly  laughter. 
^In  1843  the  social  circles  of  Shelbyville  were  en 
livened  by  a  visit  of  Miss  Eliza  Morgan,  of  North  Bend, 
Ohio,  to  the  home  of  her  sister,  Mrs.  Daniel  West.  The 
visitor  was  a  beautiful  girl  in  her  teens,  merry-hearted 
and  vivacious,  cultured,  accomplished,  and  at  home  in 
society.  The  pet  of  the  social  world  of  Shelby,  she  won 
the  especial  admiration  of  Mr.  Hendricks.  They  were 
much  in  company  together,  and  formed  for  each  other  a 
deep  attachment.  The  season  was  one  of  indiscribable 
charm  to  both,  and  its  memory  was  ever  fondly  cherished. 
Letters  from  the  young  lawyer  followed  the  little  lady  to 
her  home  on  the  Ohio,  and  these  in  turn  were  followed 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.         91 

by  the  young  man  himself.     Visits  to  North  Bend  were 
occasions  of  greatest  pleasure  to  Mr.  Hendricks.     Miss 
Morgan  was  the  daughter  of  a  widow,  her  father,  Hon. 
Isaac   Morgan,   having   died  some  years  before.      Her 
grandfather,  Dr.  Stephen  Wood,  was  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  town,  and  built  his  homestead  immediately 
adjoining  that  of  Gen.  William   H.  Harrison,  a  fellow- 
Virginian   and  his  life-long  friend.     The  old  hero  was 
now  gone  from  North  Bend,  having  been   called  to  the 
White  House  and  to  the  tomb.     Two  large  and  beautiful 
stone  mansions,  with  generous  grounds  and  commanding 
prospect,  looked  over  the  village.     One  was  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Wood  ;  the  other,  that  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Mor 
gan.     Both  were  furnished  with  the  elegance  character 
istic  of  old  Virginia  homes.     The  inmates  were  hospit 
able  in  manners  and  refined  in  tastes  ;    and  luxuries  of 
the  table   and  of  the  library  alike   engaged  the  favored 
guest.     But  the  chief  charm  was  the  maiden,  whose  soul 
was  the  soul  of  the  home.     The  latter  was  a  favorite  in 
leading  families  of  Cincinnati,  of  which  city  North  Bend 
was  a  suburb,  and  entertained  many  of  her  city  friends, 
in  summer  days,  at  the  beautiful  retreat  on  the  river.     At 
such  an  ideal  home  the   future  Vice-President  met  the 
lady  who  was  to  make  his  own  home  a  model  fora  nation, 
a  type  of  all  that  is  sacred  and  beautiful  and  sweet  on 
earth.     On  the  banks  of  the  Beautiful  River  the  vows  of 
lovers  were  exchanged.     Mr.  Hendricks  was   ambitious 
to  win  a  home,  that  he  might  claim  his  bride — a  home  of 
their  own,  where  they  might  enjoy  that  independence  nec 
essary  to  true  happiness.     After  two  years  of  unceasing 
endeavor,  he  found  himself  in  receipt  of  an  income  suffi 
cient  to    furnish    a    comfortable    support,    and  of    suffi 
cient  stability  to  dismiss  anxiety  as  to  the  future.     Late 
in  September   he  took    passage  in  the  stage    coach  for 
North  Bend,  for  a  final  visit.    Arriving,  he  begged  the 
lady  to  name  the  day.  The  girl's  friends,  who  were  with 


92         STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW. 

her,  answered  for  her  and  named  the  day  following,, 
which  appointment  Mr.  Hendricks  heartily  seconded. 
There  had  been  no  wedding  preparations,  but  what  of 
that?  ^On  the  26th  of  September,  1845,  accordingly,  the 
marriage  was  celebrated,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jones,  Baptist 
pastor  of  Cheviott,  officiating^  A  merry  feast  was  spread 
next  day  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Wood,  where  all  the  family 
were  gathered.  A  few  more  days  were  spent  amid  the 
beautiful  scenes  of  Mrs.  Hendricks's  old  home,  and  then 
the  farewells  were  spoken.  A  visit  to  Cincinnati  followed, 
and  a  steamboat  ride  down  the  river  to  Madison,  where 
a  day  was  passed  at  the  home  of  Governor  Hendricks. 
Another  day  found  them  at  the  mansion  of  Major  Hen 
dricks,  in  Shelbyville,  and  then  they  repaired  to  their 
own  cottage. 

Thus  with  beautiful  simplicity  began  their  married 
life.  Mrs.  Hendricks  entered  with  earnest  sympathy 
and  thorough  appreciation  into  all  her  husband's  plans 
and  purposes.  She  was  ambitious  for  his  success  in 
his  chosen  profession,  and  was  of  great  assistance  in 
securing  his  steady  rise.  Early  in  their  married  life  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  called  to  plead  a  cause  before  a  Justice, 
several  miles  in  the  country.  The  morning  appointed 
was  very  cold  and  stormy.  It  was  not  pleasant  to 
cross  Eagle  Creek  on  the  ice.  The  fee  .offered  was 
but  five  dollars.  Mr.  Hendricks  rose  with  the  intention 
of  abandoning  the  cause  to  some  other  attorney.  But  his 
wife  had  prepared  an  early  breakfast,  made  ready  his 
leggings  and  wraps,  and  arranged  in  every  particular  for 
his  journey,  and  at  her  solicitation  he  set  forth.  The 
cause  was  tried  before  'Squire  Rorer,  and  Mr.  Hendricks 
won.  The  gain  to  him  was  far  more  than  the  amount  of 
the  fee  ;  the  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his  client  elicited 
admiration,  and  secured  him  the  conduct  of  other  causes. 

A  very  clever  writer  of  biography  says  :  "  The  Hen 
dricks's  in  the  beginning,  as  to-day,  were  plain,  amiable 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.         93 

people,  each  working  industriously.  Mrs.  Hendricks,  as 
sisting  with  a  garden,  after  the  fashion  of  the  period, 
established  a  horticultural  reputation  not  yet  forgotten  in 
Shelby  ville." 

An  old  neighbor  has  remarked  :  "  Tom  Hendricks  and 
I  were  boys  together.  Though  we  have  seldom  voted 
the  same  ticket,  I  will  say  what  no  citizen  of  Shelbyville 
can  deny.  Both  as  boy  and  man  he  was  honest,  an  ex 
cellent  neighbor,  and  he  never  forgets  to  be  a  gentleman. 
You  will  find  the  same  testimony  from  the  chairman  of 
the  Republican  Central  Committee  of  this  county  and  the 
editor  of  the  Republican  paper.  We  are  not  all  Democrats 
here,  by  any  means,  but  we  are  all  united  in  universal 
respect  for  Tom  Hendricks  ;  and  I  have  thought  that  he 
never  could  have  achieved  such  success  in  a  political 
way  but  for  his  wife.  She  is  generous,  wise  and  dis 
creet.  The  man  born  to  get  on  in  the  world  always  mar 
ries  that  kind  of  woman,  it  appears." 

On  the  1 6th  of  January,  1848^  son  was  born — the  only 
child.  He  received  the  name  of  Morgan.  He  was  a 
beautiful  boy,  the  pride  of  his  parents  and  the  joy  of  the 
home.  It  is  sad  that  his  sweet  life  was  cut  short  in  its 
early  bloom.  The  portrait  of  the  child  which  hangs  in 
the  family  library  is  full  of  babyish  grace  and  spiritual 
beauty.  To  the  last  he  lived  in  the  heart  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks,  who  noted  his  birth-day  and  the  anniversary  of 
death  in  1851,  and  who  often  repeated  the  baby  utter 
ances  of  his  darling  child. 

To  the  profession  of  law  Mr.  Hendricks  was  devoted 
through  life,  and  in  it  he  enjoyed  an  eminent  rank. 
Judge  Walter  Q^  Gresham,  on  taking  the  chair  of  a 
meeting  of  the  State  Bar  after  Mr.  Hendricks's  death, 
paid  a  merited  tribute  to  the  departed  lawyer,  which  is 
here  produced : 

/" Although  Mr.  Hendricks  occupied  many  high  stations 
in  the  State  and  nation,  finally  the  second    highest   in 


94         STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW. 

the  gift  of  the  people,  all  of  which  he  filled  with  distin 
guished  ability,  he  never  lost  his  fondness  for  his  chosen 
profession.  His  triumphs  at  the  bar  were,  perhaps,  fully 
as  satisfactory  as  his  triumphs  in  the  conflicts  of  politics. 
I  will  not  on  this  occasion  speak  of  his  public  service 
further  than  to  say  that  intellectually,  he  was  the  peer 
of  the  ablest  men  of  his  time,  and  that  he  never  used  offi 
cial  position  for  private  gain — that  even  in  the  minds  of 
his  political  adversaries  no  stain  attaches  to  his  private 
or  official  integrity.  In  capacity  for  rapid  absorption  of 
a  case,  arrangement  of  facts  in  their  proper  relation, 
and  application  of  principles  to  facts,  Mr.  Hendricks 
greatly  excelled.  While  he  justly  stood  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  profession,  perhaps  his  real  sphere  was  that  of  the 
advocate.  In  this  line  he  had  no  superiors,  perhaps  no 
equals.  As  a  trial  lawyer  he  was  self-reliant  and  cour 
ageous,  and  when  a  case  took  a  sudden  and  unexpected 
turn,  and  defeat  seemed  almost  inevitable,  he  exhibited 
rare  skill  and  great  reserve  power.  It  was  on  such  occa 
sions  that  he  appeared  to  best  advantage.  His  style  of 
speaking  was  admirable  ;  while  he  was  earnest — at  times 
vehement — he  was  always  graceful  and  dignified,  and 
therefore  pleasing  and  persuasive.  His  equanimity  and 
uniform  courtesy  to  the  court  and  bar,  in  defeat  as  well 
as  victory,  was  worthy  of  all  praise,  and  in  this  and  other 
respects  younger  men,  members  of  this  bar — a  bar  in 
moral  tone  and  elevation  second  to  none,  so  far  as  I 
know — will  do  well  to  make  him  a  model  for  imitation. 
His  amiable,  cheery,  genial  good  nature  made  him  a 
most  agreeable  companion,  and  won  for  him  the  sym 
pathy  and  regard  of  those  who,  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
meet  him  in  social  intercourse. "\ 

Judge  David  Turpie  at  the  same  time  spoke  eloquently 
of  the  absent  member,  beautifully  analyzing  his  charac 
teristics  as  an  advocate,  saying  in  conclusion : 


STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW.         95 

"  In  illustration  he  was  sparing  ;  in  diction,  choice,  ac 
curate  ;  upon  occasion  ornate  and  elegant ;  fluent  without 
superfluity.  In  pronunciation  a  purist,  clear,  precise, 
with  an  ear  of  most  delicate  fancy.  In  the  collocation, 
or  arrangement,  of  words  in  the  clause  or  sentence,  not 
so  capable — as  apt  to  close  an  important  sentence  with 
one  of  the  smallest  of  English  prepositions  as  with  a  term 
whose  quantities  might  give  to  both  the  voice  and  the  ear 
a  cadence  of  repose.  For  mere  humor  he  found  not  often 
a  place — though  happy  when  so  used ;  for  invective  or 
denunciation,  very  seldom.  The  most  malignant  miscre 
ant  in  the  record  was  treated  by  him  usually  as  one  who 
had  but  fallen  into  some  mistake  or  error. 

"  His  deportment  toward  his  brethren  of  the  bar,  the 
jury,  his  auditors,  and  especially  toward  the  officer  pre 
siding,  was  the  model  of  courtesy  and  complaisance.  As 
an  advocate  he  must  take  high  rank  in  the  first  class,  a 
class  not  numerous.  He  was  especially  able  in  adapta 
tion.  Fact  was  closely  fitted  to  fact,  and  the  whole  struc 
ture  of  circumstance  dovetailed  into  the  law  of  the  case. 
The  parts  matched  like  mosaics  in  the  most  highly  fin 
ished  mechanism.  To  this  was  united  a  suave  plausibil 
ity  and  a  subtle  economy  which  made  much — the  most — 
of  little  when  little  fell  to  his  side.  He  had  a  copious 
command  of  familiar  terms  and  expressions,  even  upon 
abstruse  topics,  which  became  his  interpreters  to  the  jury, 
and  this  kind  of  interpretation  had  for  itself  the  choicest 
medium,  a  voice  which  Persuasion  herself  had  attuned  to 
the  very  touch. 

"  His  imagination  was  strong,  active,  vivid ;  not  lawless, 
but  sedulously  tempered  to  the  theme  he  dealt  with. 
None  knew  better  than  he  when  to  use  it,  when  to  for 
bear.  His  best  field  lay  in  those  causes  involving  life, 
personal  freedom,  the  vindication  of  character,  and  in 
those  questions  concerning  human  conduct  of  either  pub 
lic,  private  or  corporate  nature,  which  beset  the  ever- 


96         STUDY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  THE  LAW. 

shifting  line  depending  upon  what  is  styled  discretion  or 
construction.  Here  the  rule  is  not  to  be  found  in  statutes, 
text-books — only  in  the  mind,  heart  and  conscience  of 
those  who  sit  in  judgment  or  in  the  hints  contained  in 
those  grand  depositories  of  the  law,  spoken  and  unspoken, 
the  constitutional  orders  and  ordinances  of  the  United 
States. 

"It  was  his  fortune  many  times  to  face  hatred  most 
deadly,  prejudice  unsparing,  the  unreasoning  odium  and 
fury  of  the  time— fruits  of  the  great  military  and  civil  con 
vulsions  which  characterized  the  war.  In  such  conjunc 
ture  no  difficulty  disconcerted  him,  no  peril  appalled.  He 
will  be  remembered  as  an  earnest  defender  of  popular 
rights,  of  civil  and  political  liberty  as  defined  by  law— as 
a  leader  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  steadfast  and  dis 
creet,  of  the  constitutional  majorities  of  the  North  and 
West,  which  he  found  in  weakness  and  which  he  left  in 
power. 

61  His  name  will  be  the  synonym  of  professional  honor, 
courage  and  fidelity.  He  was  a  member  of  the  national 
bar,  for  many  years  of  the  bar  of  this  city  and  county, 
and  for  a  yet  longer  period  of  the  bar  of  the  State.  He 
is  one  of  those  who  will  always  continue  to  be  a  member 
here.  His  association  with  us  can  never  be  lost.  His 
membership  has  passed  beyond  the  contingency  of  em 
ployment,  of  verdict,  judgment  or  appeal.  His  name  and 
presence  will  here  have  an  assured  perpetuity  in  his 
blameless  life,  his  eloquent  labors,  his  lofty  example,  so 
worthy  yet  so  difficult  of  all  imitation." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

In  1848  Mr.  Hendricks  was  nominated  for  the  lower 
House  of  the  General  Assembly.  He  did  not  seek  the 
honor,  but  was  selected  for  his  ability  as  a  speaker,  the 
Democrats  being  desirous  of  seeing  the  Whig  candidate 
for  the  State  Senate,  Martin  M.  Ray,  well  matched  upon 
the  stump.  The  latter  has  been  mentioned  as  a  some 
what  experienced  political  speaker.  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
not  yet  twenty-nine  years  of  age.  His  reputation  as  a 
speaker  and  debater  rested  wholly  upon  his  efforts  as  an 
attorney,  for  he  had  never  made  a  political  speech  in  his 
life.  He  set  out  upon  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  county, 
determined  that  the  issues  should  be  fully  presented  to 
the  voters. 

It  wras  the  Presidential  year  in  which  General  Cass 
and  General  Taylor  were  candidates  for  the  highest 
national  honor,  and  the  results  of  the  war  with  Mexico, 
just  closed,  were  to  be  settled.  State  matters,  however, 
were  discussed  at  some  length,  and  received  a  fail- 
share  of  attention.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  frank  and  ingen 
uous  in  his  arguments,  concealing  nothing  and  saying 
only  what  he  heartily  believed  to  be  true.  He  was 
exasperated  at  the  course  taken  by  his  immediate  com 
petitor,  Captain  Nathan  Earlywine,  who  was  not  very 
scrupulous  as  to  the  truth  of  his  assertions,  and  was  reck 
lessly  personal  in  his  remarks. 

A  notable  occasion  was  a  political  gathering  at  a  place 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

called  Flat  Rock,  in  the  southern  part  cf  the  county,  on 
a  tributary  of  the  White  River.  A  concourse  of  people 
had  assembled  at  the  river  bluff,  and  a  speakers'  stand 
had  been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  contestants.  The 
Captain  spoke  first,  charging  upon  the  Democrats  the 
responsibility  for  the  Mexican  war,  which  he  denounced 
as  an  unjust  aggression  upon  the  rights  of  a  sister  repub 
lic.  He  declared  that  Mr.  Hendricks  had  admitted  this 
in  private  conference,  but  had  expressed  an  intention  to 
deceive  his  hearers  and  throw  the  responsibility  upon  the 
Whigs.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  standing  upon  the  bank, 
some  distance  away,  and  hearing  his  name  mentioned 
he  listened  attentively  to  the  speaker's  statement.  He 
could  not  repress  his  indignation,  but  called  out,  as  he 
looked  the  speaker  directly  in  the  eye,  "  You  know  that's 
a  lie."  There  was  something  of  a  rush  made  by  Captain 
Earlywine's  friends  toward  the  spot  where  Mr.  Hendricks 
stood,  and  appearances  threatened  a  violent  ending  of 
the  meeting;  but  Mr.  Hendricks  held  his  ground,  and 
declared  he  wanted  only  an  opportunity  to  make  his 
word  good.  This  was  accorded  him.  Earlywine  finished 
his  address,  and  the  boyish-looking  candidate  took  the 
stand.  So  earnest  was  he  in  all  his  speech,  and  so  clear 
and  telling  were  his  points,  that  he  won  and  held  the 
attention  of  the  Whigs  as  well  as  the  Democrats  ;  and  it 
was  the  general  sentiment  that  if  he  was  wrong  in  mak 
ing  the  interruption,  he  at  least  acted  under  the  greatest 
provocation,  since  it  was  manifest  before  the  close  that 
the  charge  of  his  opponent  was  unfounded. 

Very  different  were  the  contests  between  Hendricks 
and  Ray.  In  the  good  old  fashion  of  Whigs  and  Demo 
crats,  they  discussed  subjects  of  national  and  State  finance, 
and  their  debates  were  conducted  with  dignity  and  cour 
tesy,  and  exhibited  much  thought  and  investigation  on 
the  part  of  each.  A  contemporary  writer  wittily  describes 
these  discussions  as  a  joint  canvass  of  "two  moneyless 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  99 

and  clientless  barristers  trying  to  disagree  on  the  subject 
of  State  banks."  The  campaign  was  hotly  fought  out  in 
all  the  townships — thirteen  in  number. 

The  election  was  held  in  August.  There  was  a  new 
and  singular  feature  which  characterized  it  and  made  it 
ever  memorable.  Each  voter  on  depositing  his  ballot 
was  asked,  viva  voce,  by  the  Judge  of  the  election, — 

"Are  you  in  favor  of  free  schools?" 

The  history  of  the  public  school  agitation  dates  back 
two  years  earlier — to  the  session  of  1846.  On  the  yth  of 
December  of  that  year,  as  the  members  of  the  General 
Assembly  were  gathering  at  the  capital,  the  Indiana 
State  Journal  contained  a  message  to  the  Legislature  on 
the  subject  of  education.  Manifestly  it  was  written  by  an 
able  and  learned  person,  but  by  whom  no  one  could  tell. 
It  was  signed  "  One  of  the  people."  It  set  forth  startling 
facts,  substantiated  by  figures  taken  from  public  records, 
and  pointed  out  a  grave  danger  to  the  State  from  the  ever 
increasing  illiteracy  of  the  population.  There  was  at  the 
time  no  uniformity  in  educational  matters  in  Indiana, 
Schools  were  conducted  only  where  they  were  sustained 
by  the  popular  vote  of  a  township.  Indifference  of  the 
people  to  their  best  interests,  a  neighborhood  feud  or  a 
fanatical  opposition  to  schools  might  cause  the  total  aban 
donment  of  educational  work  in  any  township.  The 
"pure  Democracy"  of  the  New  England  .  town  (town 
ship)  was  not  adapted  to  educational  progress  in  the 
West.  The  message  pleaded  for  a  law  securing  the  main 
tenance  of  free  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  At  the 
session  of  1847  a  similar  message  was  received  from  the 
same  unknown  hand,  and  resulted  in  the  passage  of  an 
act  submitting  the  question  to  the  people  at  the  next  elec 
tion.  It  was  shrewdly  required  that  the  vote  be  not 
written  on  ballots,  but  given  orally  and  publicly. 

The  election  on  that  summer  day  closed  an  exciting 
campaign  in  Shelby  county.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  sue- 


100  THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

cessful,  and  received  more  than  his  party  vote,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  citizens  who  had  listened  to  the  dis 
cussions  of  the  canvass.  Late  in  the  year  he  repaired  to 
the  capital,  bearing  his  credentials  to  the  General  As 
sembly. 

The  population  of  the  Hoosier  city  was  estimated  at 
about  six  thousand  five  hundred.  The  principal  building 
was  the  State  House,  which  occupied  a  single  block  and 
fronted  on  West  Washington  street.  It  had  been  com 
pleted  fourteen  years  before,  at  a  cost  of  about  $60,000, 
and  was  really  a  fine  structure  for  those  days.  In  dimen 
sions  it  was  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  by  eighty ;  in 
form  it  was  fashioned  roughly  after  the  Doric  model,  but 
was  surmounted  by  a  central  dome,  confusing  the  "or 
ders  "  of  architecture.  Eight  huge  Doric  columns  formed 
the  front  at  each  end,  north  and  south,  and  heavy  pilas 
ters  were  ranged  along  the  sides.  The  legislative  cham 
bers  were  constructed  in  imitation  of  those  in  the  old 
Capitol  at  Washington.  Edward  Eggleston,  the  novelist 
and  historian,  thus  describes  Indianapolis  as  it  appeared 
to  a  young  legislator  a  few  years  before  : 

"  It  was  a  straggling,  muddy  village  in  a  heavily 
wooded  morass.  The  newly  projected  capital  had  been 
laid  off  with  true  Hoosier  magnificence  and  hopefulness. 
The  Governor's  house,  remarkable  for  a  homely  bigness 
and  a  dirty  color,  stood  in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  a 
circular  street  which  left  his  Excellency's  family  no  back 
yard — all  sides  were  front.  Around  this  focus  most  of 
the  new  wooden  churches  were  built,  so  that  people  going 
to  meeting  might  inspect  the  Governor's  wood-pile  and 
count  the  inmates  of  his  chicken-coop  whose  death-war 
rants  had  not  yet  been  signed.  Outside  of  the  Circle, 
the  city  was  laid  off  with  nice  retangularity,  except  that 
four  great  diagonal  avenues,  running  from  the  center, 
gave  the  town  on  the  map  the  appearance  ot  a  blazing 
sun  in  n  cheap  picture. 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  101 

"  Nowadays,  when  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  peo 
ple  have  filled  up  this  radiant  outline  with  many  costly 
buildings,  and  when  the  unsightly  "Governor's  mansion," 
having  ceased  to  exist,  no  longer  presents  its  back  door 
to  the  Episcopal  Church,  the  beautiful  Hoosier  metropo 
lis  has  justified  the  hopes  of  its  projectors.  But  in  Bon- 
amy's  time  the  stumps  stood  in  the  streets  ;  the  mud  was 
navigable  only  to  a  man  on  a  tall  horse  ;  the  buildings 
were  ugly  and  unpainted  ;  the  people  were  raw  immi 
grants,  dressed  in  butternut  jeans,  and  for  the  most  part 
afflicted  with  either  the  "  agur  "  or  the  "  yaller  janders  "  ; 
the  taverns  were  new  wooden  buildings,  with  swinging 
signs  that  creaked  in  the  wind,  their  floors  being  well 
coated  with  a  yellow  adobe  from  the  boots  of  the  guests. 
The  alkaline  biscuits  on  the  table  were  yellow,  like  the 
floors.  The  fried  "  middlings  "  looked,  much  the  same. 
The  general  yellowness  had  extended  to  the  walls  and 
the  bed-clothing  ;  and  combined  with  the  butternut  jeans 
and  Copperas-dyed  linsey-woolsey  of  the  clothes,  it  gave 
the  universe  an  air  of  having  the  jaundice." 

A  number  of  improvements  had  been  effected  since 
Bonamy's  time.  Indianapolis  possessed  a  railway  and 
a  telegraph  office.  The  latter  had  been  in  operation  six 
months ;  the  former,  more  than  a  year.  The  Masonic 
Hall,  diagonally  opposite  the  State  House,  was  in  pro 
cess  of  erection,  and  was  deemed  a  wonderful  structure. 
There  were,  besides,  four  seminaries,  two  market  houses 
and  a  half-dozen  hotels.  James  P.  Drake,  the  genial 
host  of  the  old  Mansion  house,  well  known  to  the  legisla 
tors  of  other  days,  was  now  a  General,  returned  from  the 
war,  and  the  old  hotel  was  about  to  be  rebuilt.  East  and 
to  the  rear  of  the  State  House  was  the  residence  of  ex- 
Senator  O.  H.  Smith,  a  fine,  large,  old-fashioned  man 
sion,  adjoining  which  (its  counter-part  in  plan  and  ap 
pearance)  stands  in  later  years  the  home  of  the  Vice- 
President,  in  which  he  lived  and  died. 


102  THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

The  fall  elections  had  resulted  in  the  success  of  the 
Whig  national  ticket,  the  popularity  of  General  Taylor 
overcoming  all  opposition.  Indiana,  however,  remained 
Democratic,  as  the  State  had  always  been  in  Presidential 
years  except  when  our  own  old  Territorial  Governor, 
General  Harrison,  was  a  candidate ;  and  even  now  the 
Democrats  took  comfort  from  the  fact  that  Taylor  was 
"  not  an  ultra  Whig."  It  was  also  remembered  that  the 
old  hero  won  his  early  fame  as  a  soldier  in  Indiana, 
when  at  Fort  Harrison,  in  1812,  he  arose  from  his  bed  of 
sickness,  his  fort  wrapped  in  flames  and  surrounded  by 
savages,  to  make  his  heroic  defense.  The  General  As 
sembly  was  secured  to  the  dominant  party  in  the  State. 
This  was  the  more  important,  since  it  secured  the  elec 
tion  of  another  Democratic  Senator  to  succeed  Edward 
A.  Hannegan.  • 

Both  chambers  of  the  Assembly  convened  on  the  4th 
of  December.  George  W.  Carr  was  elected  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  J.  W.  Dodd,  Principal 
Clerk.  The  able  message  of  Governor  Whitcomb  was 
received  on  the  6th.  Like  its  predecessors,  it  reviewed 
the  condition  of  the  world  in  general,  and  was  explicit 
on  matters  of  national  concern.  It  contained  the  follow 
ing  advice  relative  to  the  Mexican  cession : 

"  The  acquisition  of  territory  has  given  rise  to  a  question 
now  occupying  too  large  a  space  in  the  public  mind  to  be 
passed  over  in  silence.  Its  division  into  separate  govern 
ments,  and  the  establishment  of  the  necessary  organic 
laws,  must  occupy  the  early  attention  of  Congress  ;  and 
the  question  is,  shall  this  territory  hereafter  be  free  or 
slave  territory. 

"Decided  as  the  opinion  of  the  people  of  Indiana  is 
against  the  institution  of  human  slaverv,  vet  they  have 
ever  manifested  a  determination  not  to  interfere  with  the 
constitutional  rights  of  any  of  our  sister  States  upon  this 
subject.  They  love  this  glorious  Un-ion  which  was  formed 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  103 

by  the  Conscript  Fathers  of  the  earlier  days  of  the  Re 
public,  and  to  which,  under  Providence,  we  are  indebted 
for  our  present  eminence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
But  the  present  question  does  not  regard  slavery  in  the 
States  or  in  any  State.  It  refers  solely  to  the  propriety 
of  its  existence  hereafter  in  a  territory  now  free.  This 
territory  has  come  to  us  free — it  is  now  free,  and  it  is  rny 
opinion  that  it  should  remain  free,  and  that  every  consti 
tutional  and  legal  means  should  be  adopted  to  continue 
it  free.  Nor  do  I  think  that  our  Southern  brethren  would, 
in  that  case,  have  any  well-founded  cause  of  complaint. 
Florida  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  as  a  slave  terri 
tory,  and  so  it  was  suffered  to  remain ;  and  the  same 
remark  will  apply  to  the  acquisition  of  Texas." 

Dropping  down  to  Indiana  affairs,  the  Governor  ex 
plained  the  very  gratifying  financial  condition  of  the 
State,  cautioned  the  Legislature  against  extravagant  ex 
penditures,  and  protested  forcibly  against  the  recent 
enormous  growth  of  special,  local  and  "  private  "  legisla 
tion.  He  desired  to  rid  the  State  of  all  danger  from  the 
evils  mentioned,  and  to  that  end  suggested  a  new  consti 
tutional  convention.  Encouraging  reports  were  submitted 
from  the  so-called  "Benevolent"  Institutions. 

At  the  same  time  appeared  a  third  annual  message 
from  that  mysterious  being,  "  One  of  the  People."  The 
latter  was  in  his  happiest  mood.  The  vote  on  the  ques 
tion  of  free  schools  had  resulted  in  a  majority  of  16,636 
in  favor  of  the  schools,  the  vote  being  78,523  to  61,887. 
"  One  of  the  People"  analyzed  this  vote,  and  pointed 
out  the  way  in  which  the  wishes  of  the  people  should  be 
carried  out. 

The  standing  committees  of  the  House  were  announced 
on  the  8th  of  December.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Banks — perhaps  the  most 
responsible  position  of  the  entire  list,  as  the  Bank  of  In 
diana,  with  its  branches,  was  one  of- the  financial  marvels 


104  THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

of  the  day,  and  was  known  and  trusted  from  New  York 
to  New  Orleans,  its  importance  to  the  business  interests 
of  the  State  being  inestimable.  It  was  to  have  been, 
anticipated  that  this  appointment  would  fall  to  one  of  the 
oldest  members,  and  one  of  the  most  experienced  in 
finance  and  legislation.  That  it  was  given  to  the  young r 
new  member  from  Shelby,  must  have  been  due  to  the 
peculiarly  clear,  full  and  firm  views  which  he  expressed 
in  his  canvass.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Committee 
on  Benevolent  and  Scientific  Institutions,  and  subse 
quently  he  served  on  other  special  committees. 

Mr.  Hendricks  opened  the  business  of  the  session.. 
Scarcely  had  the  Speaker  announced  the  committees  and; 
the  order  of  business,  when  the  member  from  Shelby  rose 
and  presented  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  this  House  proceed  instanter,  with: 
closed  doors,  to  the  election  of  a  President  of  the  State 
Bank  of  Indiana,  and  that  the  Senate  be  requested  to- 
concur  in  this  resolution. 

Information  was  speedily  returned  from  the  Senate 
that  that  body  concurred  in  the  resolution,  and  the  House 
at  once  proceeded  to  an  election,  with  the  following- 
result  : 

For  James  Morrison,  53. 
For  Daniel  Mace,  47. 

Mr.  Morrison  was  thus  elected  for  a  term  of  five  years. 

On  the  i4th  of  December  the  Houses  convened  to  ballot 
for  a  Senator.  James  Whitcomb,  the  War  Governor 
of  Indiana  in  the  conflict  with  Mexico,  was  the  general 
choice  among  Democrats  for  the  Senatorial  office. 

He  was  a  scholarly  man,  of  great  natural  abilities,  and 
occupied  the  Governor's  chair  at  an  eventful  time.  He 
adjusted  the  State  debt,  and  exerted  a  strong  influence 
in  favor  of  educational  institutions,  general  and  special — 
as,  public  schools  for  all  and  Institutions  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb  and  the  blind — of  hospitals  and  reformatory  estab- 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  105 

lishments.  He  was  the  author  of  the  celebrated  pamph 
let  entitled  "  Facts  for  the  People,"  issued  in  1843,  which 
is  pronounced  by  Woollen  "  the  most  effective  treatise 
against  a  protective  tariff  ever  written."  This  tract  was 
republished  in  1882,  as  a  campaign  document. 

Governor  Whitcomb  was  elected  on  the  first  ballot, 
The  vote  stood  as  follows : 

For  James  Whitcomb 75 

For  Edward  A.  Hannegan 15 

For  Caleb  B.  Smith 53 

For  John  Law.    . 2 

For  Joseph  G.  Marshall i 

Blank 3 

Whole  number 149 

Necessary  to  a  choice 75 

Lieutenant  Governor  Paris  C.  Dunning  succeeded  to 
the  Executive  office. 

Two  days  before  this  election,  the  Legislature  had 
chosen  a  Secretary  of  State,  after  a  protracted  contest, 
the  thirteenth  and  last  ballot  resulting  as  follows  : 

For  Charles  H.  Test 76 

For  David  Reynolds 60 

Scattering 1 1 

Mr.  Hannegan  had  been  an  active  and  noted  member  of 
the  Senate.  He  was  a  man  of  brilliant  parts,  but  erratic 
in  his  course  and  prone  to  dissensions.  His  denuncia 
tion  of  the  British  Government  in  the  Oregon  matter  was 
such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  one  of  Irish  de 
scent  and  fiery  temperament.  But  his  imprecation  upon 
President  Polk,  similar  in  character,  was  not  to  be  ex 
pected  from  a  Democrat.  Yet  he  made  his  peace  with 
the  President,  and  in  the  last  days  of  his  term  was  ap 
pointed  Minister  to  Prussia,  where  he  won  little  honor  as 
a  diplomat. 

On  the  day  following  the  Senatorial  election,  Mr.  Hen- 


106  THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

dricks  introduced  a  bill  to  submit  the  question  of  a  con 
stitutional  convention  to  the  people  at  the  next  State  elec 
tion,  in  the  following  August,  thus  taking  the  initiatory 
steps  for  calling  into  existence  that  notable  body  in  which 
he  was  destined  to  win  distinguished  honor. 

On  the  I9th,  Senator  Hendricks,  of  Jefferson  county,  a 
cousin  of  Thomas  A.,  introduced  in  the  upper  Chamber 
a  joint  resolution  of  some  interest,  which  was  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  By  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  In 
diana,  that  our  Senators  in  Congress  be  instructed,  and 
our  Representatives  be  requested,  to  use  their  best  exer 
tions  to  procure  the  passage  of  a  law  to  set  apart  a  por 
tion  of  the  territory  newly  acquired  from  Mexico  for  the 
colonization  of  the  free  people  of  color  of  the  United 
States. 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  General  Assem 
bly,  eighty  acres  of  land  ought  to  be  given  to  each  person 
of  color  who  will  emigrate  to  the  Territory  aforesaid. 

Resolved,  As  the  opinion  of  this  General  Assembly, 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  any  lands  in  said  Terri 
tory,  so  set  apart,  after  paying  expenses  of  the  sale  for 
surveying  and  selling  the  same,  ought  to  be  appropriated 
for  educating  such  free  persons  of  color  as  may  emigrate 
to  such  Territory. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  forward 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  each  of  our  Senators  and 
Representatives  in  Congress. 

This  humane  resolution  was  favorably  received  in  the 
Senate,  though  it  failed  of  adoption  by  the  Assembly. 

The  member  from  Shelby  was  intrusted  with  several 
matters  of  special  legislation — some  being  the  relief  of  in 
dividuals  ;  others,  public  improvements  of  a  local  nature  ; 
and  one,  the  incorporation  of  a  society.  All  of  these 
received  his  prompt  and  careful  attention.  His  first  con 
siderable  speech  on  the  floor  of  the  House  was  made  on 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY.  107 

January  4,  1849,  when  he  Presented  a  minority  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Banks,  signed  by  himself  and  two 
others,  adverse  to  a  proposition  for  the  establishment  of 
four  additional  branches  of  the  State  Bank.  There  were 
several  good  reasons  for  deeming  the  measure  ill-advised 
and  attended  with  risk,  and  these  were  ably  presented. 
But  the  Bank  was  very  apt  to  have  things  its  own  way, 
so  far  as  they  related  to  itself;  and  while  Mr.  Hendricks's 
report  and  speech  received  respectful  consideration,  they 
were  not  entirely  effectual.  The  measure  was  adopted, 
though  not  until  the  original  plan  was  materially  amended. 
Subsequently  he  presented  several  reports  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Banks  and  one  or  two  other  committees,  which 
were  of  value  in  directing  legislation.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  careful  and  attentive  members  of  the  House,  and 
labored  earnestly  in  behalf  of  various  bills  of  importance 
to  the  State. 

The  new  school  law  was  one  of  these.  It  was  entitled 
"An  Act  to  Increase  and  Extend  the  Benefits  of  Common 
Schools,"  and  was  approved  January  17,  1849.  It:  abo1" 
ished  the  office  of  county  school  commissioner,  provided 
for  one  school  trustee  in  each  district,  and  levied  a  tax 
often  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  together  with  a  poll- 
tax  of  twenty-five  cents  and  a  special  tax  on  insurance 
companies,  for  educational  purposes.  It  made  provision, 
moreover,  for  a  special  school  tax  for  buildings,  furniture 
and  supplies,  and  also  for  a  special  tuition  tax,  to  be 
levied  by  districts  where  desired  by  the  people.  It  made 
the  State  Treasurer  ex  officio  State  Superintendent  of 
Common  Schools,  and  thus  gave  the  system  a  head.  A 
singular  feature  of  this  act  was  that  in  most  of  its  pro 
visions  it  was  left  to  be  ratified  by  each  county  for  itself. 
In  counties  by  which  it  should  not  be  ratified,  the  old  law 
was  to  remain  in  force.  But  for  this  unfortunate  provis 
ion,  which  was  fatal  to  the  efficiency  of  the  statute  in  the 
less  progressive  portions  of  the  State,  the  measure  was 


103  THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 

an  excellent  one,  closely  resembling  the  school  law  of 
the  present  time.  The  principle  of  "submission"  was 
popular  in  that  day.  Legislatures  stood  in  awe  of  the 
people,  and  were  fond  of  shifting  from  their  own  shoulders 
the  responsibility  for  important  measures. 

Among  the  earliest  acts  of  the  session  was  one  urged 
by  a  committee  of  which  Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  mem 
ber,  declaring  that  tuition  should  be  free  to  all  the  pupils 
of  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb.  An  act  ap 
proved  January  15,  authorized  the  construction  of  plank 
roads  by  corporations.  By  a  joint  resolution  of  January 
17,  the  Federal  Government  was  requested  to  recognize 
the  independence  of  Liberia ;  for  a  deep  interest  was 
manifested  in  the  work  of  the  Colonization  Society  at  that 
time  by  the  people  of  the  West.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  amount  of  a  hundred  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
old  painting  representing  the  Battle  Ground  of  Tippeca- 
noe,  which  work  of  primitive  art  in  the  Hoosier  State  is 
now  carefully  preserved  in  the  Supreme  Court  room. 

Mr.  Hendricks's  services  as  a  member  of  the  Lower 
House  were  fully  appreciated  by  his  constituents,  but 
were  decidedly  distasteful  to  himself.  The  confinement 
was  irksome.  There  was  little  active  employment,  com 
pared  with  the  work  of  a  member  of  the  bar.  Law-mak 
ing  is  necessarily  slow  and  tedious.  The  work  of  the 
session,  however,  appears  to  have  been  accomplished 
with  all  due  dispatch,  and  seemed  to  drag  only  because 
of  the  ardent,  active  nature  of  Mr.  Hendricks,  who  was 
best  pleased  when  engaged  in  business  which  called 
out  more  energy  and  celerity.  He  returned  to  his  prac 
tice  in  January,  thoroughly  "  out  of  politics,"  and  devoted 
himself  to  his  profession  with  greater  assiduity  than  ever. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

At  the  August  election  of  1849,  a  majority  of  the  voters 
favored  the  proposition  for  a  Constitutional  Convention. 
Accordingly  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  next  session, 
arranged  for  the  meeting  of  such  a  body  in  the  following 
fall.  By  an  act  approved  January  18,  1850,  it  was  or 
dered  that  the  convention  should  consist  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  members,  to  be  chosen  by  senatorial  and  repre 
sentative  districts.  The  sum  of  $40,000  was  appropri 
ated  for  its  expenses.  Shelby  county  was  entitled  to  two 
members.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  and  James  Vanben- 
fhusen  were  chosen,  the  honor  being  in  each  case  un 
sought,  and  the  election  without  opposition.  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  was  thirty-one  years  of  age  ;  his  colleague,  sev 
enty-three.  The  one  was  in  the  vigor  of  youth ;  the 
other  was  bowed  with  years,  but  wise  in  experience  and 
strong  in  counsel. 

The  Convention  assembled  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  the  capital  on  the  7th  day  of  October, 
1850.  All  but  seven  of  the  members  were  present,  and 
to  each  the  oath  was  administered  by  Judge  Isaac  Black- 
ford,  of  the  Supreme  Court.  George  W.  Carr,  of  Law 
rence  county,  was  elected  permanent  President ;  and 
William  H.  English,  of  Scott  county  (not  a  member  of 
the  convention),  was  made  Principal  Secretary,  with  R. 
M.  Evans,  of  Fountain,  H.  G.  Barkwell,  of  Perry,  and 
G.  L.  Sites  of  Allen,  for  assistants.  Samuel  McKenzie 
was  appointed  Sergeant-at-arms,  and  Samuel  J.  Johnson 

(109) 


110  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

Doorkeeper.  Among  the  more  noted  members  were 
Schuyler  Colfax,  Horace  P.  Biddle,  William  S.  Holman, 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  John  Pettit,  George  Berry,  William 
R.  Nofsinger,  Daniel  Read,  David  Wallace  and  John  I. 
Morrison.  The  -per  diem  of  three  dollars  was  but  a  nom 
inal  compensation  for  such  services  as  were  rendered, 
for  the  work  of  the  Convention  received  the  most  faithful 
and  earnest  attention  of  all  the  delegates,  many  of  whom 
were  men  of  high  ability  and  animated  by  enthusiastic 
zeal.  The  Convention  was  ably  and  speedily  organized,, 
and  the  work  proceeded  with  few  interruptions. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  appointed  to  serve  on  two  import 
ant  committees,  and  was  eminently  qualified  for  the  work 
of  each.  One  was  on  County  and  Township  Organiza 
tion,  Powers  and  Officers,  and  the  other  was  on  Finance 
and  Taxation.  The  quiet  firmness  and  the  thoughtful 
prudence  of  the  member  from  Shelby  gave  him  in  com 
mittee  work  an  influence  not  possessed  by  older  men  and 
men  of  greater  experience  in  state-craft.  While  he  gave 
special  care  and  study  to  this  special  work,  his  efforts 
were  by  no  means  confined  to  the  framing  and  presenting 
of  reports,  nor  in  debate  to  the  subjects  which  concerned 
them.  Early  in  the  session  he  engaged  the  attention  of 
all  by  his  eloquence,  and  like  Colfax,  became  recognized 
as  a  leader.  The  work  of  the  Convention  was  agreeable 
to  him,  and  he  realized  its  importance.  He  was  a  stu 
dent  of  constitutional  history  and  of  law,  and  he  fortified 
his  position  by  arguments  gained  through  diligent  re 
search. 

Judge  William  S.  Holman,  who  was  his  room-mate, 
recently  referred  to  their  manner  of  life  as  follows  : 
"Three  of  us  roomed  together  in  a  big,  old-fashioned 
room,  with  a  bed  in  each  of  three  corners  and  a  wash- 
stand  in  the  other.  The  table  was  right  in  the  center  of 
the  room,  and  there  we  used  to  sit.  Hendricks  was 
always  the  last  one  to  get  through  talking  law  points  and 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  Ill 

studying  law  and  constitutional  history.  His  wife  and 
little  boy  used  to  come  down  from  Shelbyville  to  see  him, 
and  the  last  time  he  was  here,  about  three  weeks  ago,  he 
asked  me  if  I  remembered  something  the  little  fellow 
said."  Mr.  Hendricks  is  described  as  having  been  at 
this  time  a  slender,  spare  young  man,  rather  good  look 
ing,  with  heavy,  flowing  hair,  and  the  clear,  bright  eyes 
which  even  in  his  old  days  distinguished  him.  He  was 
fond  of  society,  and  was  the  center  of  many  a  social  cir 
cle  of  the  capital.  It  was  a  season  long  to  be  remem 
bered  in  Indianapolis  for  its  public  festivities,  and  the 
hospitality  of  the  citizens  after  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
war  was  especially  warm  and  generous. 

Early  in  the  second  week  Mr.  Hendricks  offered  the 
following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  by  consent: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Organization  of 
Courts  be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  so 
amending  the  Constitution  that  the  Legislature  shall  have 
the  power  of  reducing  the  number  of  petit  jurors  in  civil 
causes  and  upon  trials  for  misdemeanors,  and  that  a  less 
number  than  the  whole  may  find  a  verdict  in  such  causes, 
and  that  a  less  number  than  the  whole  may  find  a  verdict 
of  acquittal  in  trials  for  felonies. 

Eventually  these  matters  were  left  to  the  Legislature, 
the  Constitution  simply  guaranteeing  "  public  trial  by  an 
impartial  jury"  in  criminal  prosecutions,  and  declaring 
that  "the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  remain  inviolate  in 
all  civil  cases." 

On  the  23d  of  October  the  Convention  discussed  a  res- 
lution  relative  to  the  abolition  of  the  grand  jury  system. 
Mr.  Hendricks  took  the  floor,  and  reviewed  the  subject 
in  a  clear  and  forcible  manner.  This  was  his  first  con 
siderable  participation  in  the  discussions.  He  spoke 
extemporaneously,  with  grace  and  animation.  His  speech 
revealed  a  thoughtful  acquaintance  with  the  philosophy 
of  Anglo-Saxon  jurisprudence.  From  the  following  ex- 


112  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

tracts,  something  of  the  merits   of  the  address  may  be 
gathered : 

"  I  hope,  Mr.  President,  that  the  amendment,  instead  of 
the  original  resolution,  will  be  adopted.  The  facts  and 
arguments  which  have  been  urged  against  the  grand  jury 
system  are  entitled  to  great  weight  and  consideration.  I 
acknowledge  their  force,  sir,  and  am  therefore  anxious 
for  the  adoption  of  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  gen 
tleman. from  Dearborn.  But,  sir,  it  is  no  difficult  task  to 
find  faults  and  defects  in  the  most  perfect  workmanship 
of  man.  All  our  institutions  are,  perhaps,  imperfect. 
The  grand  jury  system  has  many  defects — defects,  sir, 
that  are  the  necessary  consequences  of  its  present  organ 
ization  and  mode  of  proceeding  ;  its  ex  parte  and  inquis 
itorial  action.  These  are  defects  from  which  it  should 
be  freed,  or  it  should  cease  to  be  an  institution  of  our 
country. 

"  Gentlemen  who  advocated  the  grand  jury  system  as  it 
now  is,  and  those  who  are  in  favor  of  its  unconditional 
abolition,  found  their  arguments  upon  its  origin — its  con 
nection  with  and  position  in  the  judicial  system  of  Eng 
land.  Arguments  drawn  from  this  source  on  either  side 
can  not  be  conclusive.  Very  different  and  weighty  rea 
sons  require  the  continuance  of  the  systems  in  England, 
which  can  have  no  force  under  our  political  institutions. 
With  us  the  Judiciary  is  almost  entirely  beyond  the  influ 
ence  of  the  Executive — the  Judges,  the  court  officers  and 
the  attorney  for  the  State  receiving  and  holding  their 
offices  almost  independently  of  the  Executive.  With  us 
the  citizen  can  not  be  reached  nor  his  rights  impaired  by 
the  Executive  through  the  Judiciary.  But,  sir,  in  Eng 
land  it  is  very  different.  The  Judges  hold  their  positions 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  and  the  Attorney  General 
is  but  the  mouth-piece  of  the  Executive,  and  dependent 
upon  court  favor  for  his  position.  In  such  a  system  the 
grand  jury,  composed  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  county, 


«  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  113 

who  are  beyond  the  power  or  the  corruption  of  the  court, 
upon  whose  charge  alone  the  citizen  is  compelled  to 
answer  the  King,  is  a  safeguard  to  the  liberties  of  the 
people — a  bulwark  of  liberty  standing  between  the  throne 
and  the  citizen.  Were  I  a  subject  of  the  British  Crown, 
sir,  I  would  fight  for  the  grand  jury — I  would  fight  for  it 
as  it  is,  with  its  secret  sessions,  its  doors  closed  against 
Executive  influence. 

"  Reference  has  been  made  to  the  assizes  held  by  Jef 
freys,  and  the  corruptions  perpetrated  by  that  Judge  are 
used  as  an  argument  against  grand  juries.  But,  sir,  I 
would  ask,  gentlemen,  what  would  have  been  the  condi 
tion  of  the  people  of  the  western  part  of  England  had 
there  been  no  grand  juries — no  constitutional  bulwark 
between  them  and  the  throne?  Petit  juries  were  brow 
beaten  and  insulted,  and  forced  by  that  minion  of  the 
Crown  to  find  verdicts  against  their  own  convictions. 
The  law  and  right  were  trampled  under  foot.  The  ven 
geance  of  the  Court  was  to  be  visited  upon  the  rebels  who 
had  followed  Monmouth,  cost  what  of  law  and  right  it 
might.  But,  sir,  I  ask,  how  much  worse  would  have  been 
the  condition  oi  the  people  if  the  King's  attorney  could 
have  put  them  on  trial  upon  his  information  filed?  With 
such  a  king  as  James,  with  such  a  judge  as  Jeffreys,  with 
such  an  attorney  for  the  Crown  as  James  would  select, 
where,  I  ask,  would  have  been  the  liberties  of  the  people? 
But,  Mr.  President,  these  reasons  in  favor  of  continuing 
the  system  with  its  present  powers  and  modes  of  proceed 
ing  in  England,  do  not  have  weight  with  us,  and  should 
not  influence  us  to  retain  the  system  if  we  can  obtain  a 
suitable  substitute.  Complaints  are  made  and  fault  is 
found  with  the  grand  jury  system  because  it  produces  so 
many  indictments  and  so  few  convictions.  I  should 
think  that  complaints  of  this  character  should  be  made 
against  the  Iaw9  for  the  matter  complained  of  results  from 
8 


114  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

the  nature  of  our  institutions,  and  the  principle  that  it 
were  better  that  guilty  men  should  escape  than  that  inno 
cent  men  should  be  punished. 

"  There  was  one  court  referred  to  yesterday  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  Wayne,  in  which  conviction  was  sure  to 
follow  the  information.  That  court  was  the  Star  Cham 
ber.  I  never  heard  or  read  of  a  single  instance  in  that 
court  where  information  was  not  followed  by  conviction. 
There  the  executive  power  had  control  not  only  over  the 
officers,  but  over  the  court  that  tried  the  criminal — an 
illustration,  sir,  of  the  importance  of  a  grand  jury  in  a 
government  of  executive  powers.  The  question  before 
us  is,  how  shall  we  have  charges  in  the  name  of  the  State 
brought  against  a  citizen?  There  must  be  some  power 
in  the  State  to  do  this.  If,  as  is  proposed,  we  abolish 
grand  juries,  then  how  are  charges  of  crime  to  be  pre 
ferred?  Can  we  decide  upon  any  other  mode  than  by 
grand  juries?  Who  will  make  the  attempt  to  point  it  out? 
Is  there  any  gentleman  here  who  will  say  he  has  learn 
ing,  judgment  and  experience  enough  to  designate  a  plan 
which  will  answer  for  time  to  come,  which  shall  require 
neither  amendment  nor  alteration?  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Dearborn,  because  if 
you  place  this  matter  in  the  hands  of  our  legislators,  and 
if  they  see  fit  to  abolish  this  system  they  can  do  so,  and 
establish  in  its  stead  some  proper  tribunal  before  which 
charges  may  be  preferred  by  the  State  against  the  citizen 
In  a  manner  more  satisfactory,  perhaps,  than  could  be 
devised  here." 

Acting  upon  the  views  of  the  young  members  from 
Dearborn  and  Shelby,  the  Convention  finally  agreed  upon 
the  following  section : 

"The  General  Assembly  may  modify  or  abolish  the 
grand  jury  system." 

About  a  week  later,  Mr.  Hendricks  presented  the  re- 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  115 

port  of  the  Committee  on  Finance  and  Taxation,  relative 
to  a  section  prohibiting  the  Legislature  from  contracting 
State  debts.  In  view  of  the  unhappy  financial  experience 
of  Indiana  in  the  past,  this  subject  was  one  of  great  in 
terest,  and  subsequently  in  its  discussion  called  forth  one 
of  his  best  efforts  upon  the  floor. 

The  death  of  the  venerable  colleague  of  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks,  on  the  I3th  day  of  November,  caused  a  tempo 
rary  adjournment  after  the  passage  of  appropriate  reso 
lutions  in  his  honor.  Mr.  Hendricks  accompanied  the 
remains  to  their  last  resting  place  in  Shelby  county,  and 
returned  to  his  labors  with  a  heart  saddened  by  real  grief 
that  his  aged  but  congenial  friend  was  gone.  On  the 
Monday  follo\\jng — the  i8th — he  rose  in  his  seat  and  made 
the  following  address,  which  has  been  much  admired  for 
its  simple  beauty  and  unaffected  grace  : 

"  Mr.  President — Upon  my  return  to  the  Convention, 
after  a  necessary  absence  of  a  few  days.  I  find  the  seat 
of  my  colleague  vacant.  He  has  left  us,  sir,  to  return  no 
more.  He  has  been  called  from  labor  to  repose.  The 
transition  is  his  gain — it  is  our  loss.  He  died  at  his  board 
ing  house  in  this  city,  at  half-past  one  o'clock  on  last 
Wednesday  night.  From  the  morning  of  the  loth  inst. 
he  complained  of  diarrhoea,  but  continued  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties  as  a  member  of  this  body  until  Tues 
day  ensuing.  After  the  adjournment  on  that  evening, 
he  complained  of  increased  illness  ;  and  about  ten  hours 
before  his  death,  the  epidemic  which  carried  him  off  so 
hastily  was  upon  him.  His  sufferings  were  soon  over, 
and  he  died  quietly — as  the  good  man,  only,  dies,  who 
has  no  regrets  when  he  looks  back  over  the  scenes  of 
life  and  no  fears  when  he  looks  forward  into  the  great 
future. 

"  Our  deceased  friend  was  a  native  of  New  York,  born 
in  Albany  county  in  the  year  1777.  As  a  soldier  he 
served  his  country  in  the  war  of  i8i2,  and  was  connected 


116  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

with  some  of  the  most  exciting  scenes  of  that  period.  In 
1829  he  immigrated  to  this  State,  and  settled  in  the 
county  of  Shelby.  Until  called  upon  to  serve  in  this  Con 
vention,  he  lived  retired  from  public  life,  occupied  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  farm.  He  asked  of  his  fellow-citizens 
no  official  position,  and  held  no  office  until  he  took  his 
seat  with  us  in  this  hall.  I  can  give  no  higher  evidence 
of  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  him  than  that 
his  nomination  to  this  position  was  the  free-will  offering 
of  his  party,  and  that  without  his  seeking  he  was  selected 
to  so  important  and  responsible  a  position.  In  all  the  re 
lations  of  life  he  was  a  true  man — as  a  member  of  the 
benevolent  orders  of  the  country,  in  his  political  connec 
tions,  as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  Christian — he  was  faithful  to 
all  his  espousals.  To  his  order,  his  party,  his  country 
and  his  faith,  in  their  prosperity  and  adversity,  their 
bright  day  and  cloudy  day,  he  was  the  same  true  brother, 
warm  friend,  zealous  patriot,  and  unwearying  Christian. 
At  home  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all ; 
and  in  this  body,  I  am  glad  to  know,  by  his  wise  and 
prudent  action  he  secured  the  regard  and  confidence  of 
all  with  whom  he  became  acquainted.  Whilst  all  have 
cause  to  mourn  that  a  faithful  public  servant  has  fallen  at 
his  post,  I  feel  in  the  death  of  my  colleague  a  personal 
loss.  I  had  relied  much  upon  his  mature  and  ripe  judg 
ment  for  counsel  in  the  discharge  of  my  duties  here.  His 
circumstances  in  life  were  easy,  and  he  left  his  family 
comfortably  provided  for. 

"  The  death  of  my  colleague  having  been  heretofore 
announced  in  this  hall,  and  the  Convention  having  taken 
such  action  thereon  as  seemed  appropriate,  I  have  no 
further  action  to  propose." 

Two  days  later,  Mr.  Hendricks  joined  in  the  animated 
debate  on  the  proposition  to  prohibit  the  immigration  of 
Negroes  and  mulattoes.  To  such  immigration  he  was 
strongly  opposed.  Like  his  uncle,  he  was  never  a  friend 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  117 

to  the  institution  of  slavery  ;  and  while  the  States  of  the 
North  possessed  no  power  or  authority  to  prohibit  it  in  the 
Southern  States,  he  felt  that  the  free  commonwealths 
should  not  have  any  share  of  responsibility  for  the  exist 
ence  of  that  institution.  For  some  years  it  had  been  the 
growing  policy  of  the  South  to  send  the  old,  diseased  and 
vicious  of  her  colored  population  to  the  North ;  and  as 
the  policy  became  more  generally  urged  and  adopted, 
the  people  of  the  States  north  of  the  Ohio  became  alarmed 
at  the  rapid  increase  of  so  unwelcome  an  immigration. 
After  reviewing  the  question  in  its  legal  and  constitutional 
aspect,  Mr.  Hendricks  replied  to  his  opponents  and  de 
fined  the  reasons  for  his  course,  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  President— I  will  not  detain  the  Convention  longer 
with  further  argument  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject, 
but  will  very  briefly  consider  the  question  of  the  right 
and  propriety  of  our  preventing  the  further  immigration 
of  free  blacks  and  mulattoes  into  our  State,  and  notice 
some  of  the  objections  urged  by  those  who  oppose  it. 
Those  who  favor  this  measure  are  charged  with  pander 
ing  to  a  pro-slavery  sentiment.  For  myself,  sir,  in  ref 
erence  to  this  charge,  I  have  only  to  say  that  I  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  institution  of  slavery.  My  strongest 
prejudices  are  excited  by  any  oppression  of  man.  But 
let  us  examine  this  charge  and  see,  if  we  can,  which  is 
the  pro-slavery  side  of  this  question. 

"Two  years  ago,  we  heard  it  from  these  same  gentle 
men  that  the  institution  of  slavery  ought  not  to  be  carried 
into  the  free  Territories — not  because  the  number  of  per 
sons  held  in  bondage  would  be  increased,  not  that  slavery 
in  one  State  or  Territory  would  be  any  greater  violation 
of  man's  rights  than  in  another,  nor  that  the  condition  of 
the  slave  upon  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  would  be 
worse  than  upon  the  Roanoke,  but  that  the  institution 
ought  to  be  confined  within  its  present  limits  until  the 
number  would  be  so  increased  that  slave  labor  would  be- 


118  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

come  unprofitable  and  the  institution  become  unmanage 
able  and  fall  by  its  own  weight.  The  same  argument 
has  been  urged  against  the  Colonization  Society — that  it 
carries  off  the  surplus  and  unprofitable  black  population 
from  the  South. 

"  The  South,  sir,  in  reference  to  the  free  black  popula 
tion,  has  adopted  its  policy — a  policy  which,  in  my  judg 
ment,  is  as  shrewd  as  it  is  unjust.  The  Southern  States 
prohibit  such  immigration  within  their  borders.  Ken 
tucky  drives  them  from  her  limits,  and  the  other  States 
require  such  security  from  the  master,  when  he  manu 
mits  his  slaves,  as  in  fact  drives  them  out.  The  policy 
of  the  South  is,  that  the  whole  black  population  which  is 
not  continued  in  servitude  shall  be  driven  out.  This  pol 
icy  is  adopted,  not  only  to  relieve  themselves  of  the  bur 
den  of  this  population,  but  to  secure  the  permanency  and 
vigor  of  their  peculiar  institution.  And,  sir,  these  gen 
tlemen  who  oppose  this  measure  now  say  that  we  must 
suffer  the  South  to  carry  out  her  policy  and  throw  upon 
us  and  our  children  the  burdens  of  their  institution ;  that 
we  shall  nourish  the  institution  of  slavery,  that  it  may 
grow  and  have  perpetual  vigor.  And  yet  they  say  that 
those  who  demand  that  the  South  shall  bear  its  own  bur 
dens,  and  not  throw  them  upon  the  North,  are  pandering 
to  a  pro-slavery  sentiment.  I  say,  sir,  that  these  gentle 
men,  by  their  course  upon  this  question,  are  lending  '  aid 
and  comfort '  to  the  supporters  of  slavery." 

However  mistaken  were  the  views  of  the  speaker,  as 
judged  from  the  standpoint  of  to-day,  Mr.  Hendricks 
was  not  only  conscientious  in  expressing  them,  but  was 
in  unison  with  the  general  sentiment  of  the  people  of 
Indiana.  The  proposed  section  to  which  he  referred  was 
afterward  separately  submitted  to  the  people,  and  ratified 
by  a  large  majority. 

On  the  22d  of  November  Mr.  Hendricks  advocated 
the  proposed  section  prohibiting  the  General  Assembly 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  119 

from  contracting  a  State  debt,  and  requiring  for  such  a 
measure  a  vote  of  the  people.  In  the  discussion  the  old 
question  of  a  State  bank  arose,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  said: 
When  the  vote  was  taken  on  the  motion  to  strike  out 
the  latter  part  of  the  pending  section  on  yesterday,  I 
could  not  vote  my  sentiments.  I  could  not  do  so  because 
the  remarks  of  the  gentleman  from  Wayne  and  the 
speeches  of  other  gentleman  had  had  the  effect  to  make 
the  whole  question  turn  upon  that  of  the  State's  borrow 
ing  money  to  bank  upon,  and  becoming  a  partner  in  the 
banking  business.  To  this  we  were  forced  by  the  gen 
tleman  declaring  that  the  clause  prohibiting  the  Legisla 
ture  from  contracting  a  public  debt  except  for  the  purpose 
of  meeting  a  deficit  in  the  revenue  and  for  paying  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt,  etc.,  was  designed  to  restrict 
the  Legislature  from  ever  connecting  the  State  as  a  part 
ner  in  any  banking  institution.  Therefore  I  voted  for 
the  amendment  to  strike  out  all  that  part  of  the  section 
which  proposed  that  the  Legislature  might  contract  a 
public  debt  provided  the  law  for  that  purpose  was  first 
submitted  to  the  people  and  by  them  approved.  For,  sir, 
I  am  opposed  to  having  the  State  in  any  way  connected 
with  a  bank  or  banks  as  a  partner.  I  am  opposed  to  the 
State's  having  any  connection  in  interest  with  banks.  Let 
her  have  only  a  controlling  power  over  any  banks  that 
may  be  established.  In  this  I  am  confident  that  I  carried 
out  the  will  of  the  people,  and  that  is  what  I  shall  desire 
to  do  upon  every  vote  during  the  session  of  this  Conven 
tion. 

Replying  to  those  who  claimed  that  the  people  them 
selves  were  not  to  be  trusted  with  the  power  to  authorize 
a  State  debt,  and  who  threw  upon  the  people  the  respon 
sibility  for  the  ruinous  system  of  public  works,  which  he 
had  opposed  almost  from  boyhood,  Mr.  Hendricks  said : 

"  In  the  debate  upon  this  question,  gentlemen  are  con- 


120  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

stantly  reverting  to  the  events  of  1836.  Even  the  gentle 
man  from  Posey  has  carried  us  back  to  the  disastrous 
proceedings  of  that  time,  and  tells  us  that  that  was  one 
instance  where  the  people  judged  wrong.  But,  sir,  I  say 
it  was  not  the  people.  I  contend  that  it  was  the  politicians, 
of  that  day  who  went  astray  and  took  the  people  with 
them.  It  was  not  the  people  who  committed  ths  blunder, 
but  the  Legislature ;  and  the  Legislature  was  governed 
by  a  system  of  log-rolling  which  bore  down  every  oppos 
ing  interest ;  and  the  people  could  not  have  been  con 
trolled  by  such  influences  as  governed  the  Legisla 
ture.  What  use  is  there  in  pertinaciously  declaring  that 
the  people  were  inflamed  and  excited,  and  that  they  in 
volved  themselves  in  the  colossal  debt  which  is  now  and 
for  these  years  has  been  hanging  over  them?  I  tell  you,, 
gentlemen,  the  people  never  did  it,  and  never  will  so  in 
volve  themselves.  It  was  the  Legislature  at  whose  door 
this  whole  scheme  must  be  laid,  with  all  its  consequences. 
Then,  sir,  I  say,  let  us  restrict  the  Legislature  by  a  pro 
vision  that  will  forever  prohibit  that  body  from  con 
tracting  a  public  debt ;  but  let  us  not  restrict  the  people,, 
who  are  the  source  of  all  political  power.  Between  the 
people  and  their  representatives  I  draw  a  broad  line  of 
distinction.  The  one  I  regard  as  the  proper  subject  of 
jealousy  and  restriction  ;  the  other,  as  being  beyond  the 
need  and  the  proper  province  of  constitutional  restric 
tions." 

Article  X  of  the  Constitution  as  adopted  contains  the 
following  section : 

"  No  law  shall  authorize  any  debt  to  be  contracted  on 
behalf  of  the  State  except  in  the  following  cases :  To 
meet  casual  deficits  in  the  revenue  ;  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  State  debt;  to  repel  invasion,  suppress  insurrec 
tion,  or  if  hostilities  be  threatened,  provide  for  the  public 
defense." 

It  was  impossible  that  the  Convention  should  complete 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  121 

its  work  in  the  State  House,  since  that  building  was 
needed  for  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  Vari 
ous  other  places  were  suggested,  and  it  was  proposed  to 
remove  to  Madison  and  to  other  towns.  It  was  finally 
decided,  however,  to  continue  the  Convention  in  the  new 
Masonic  Temple,  across  the  way.  While  yet  unfin 
ished,  this  building  was  much  better  adapted  to  such  use 
than  the  old  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  had 
been,  since  it  was  commodious  and  possessed  of  good 
acoustic  properties.  It  was  a  famous  building  in  its  day, 
and  is  associated  in  the  memory  not  only  with  the  Con 
vention,  but  with  Kossuth,  Beecher,  Greeley,  Theodore 
Parker,  Emerson,  Alexander  Campbell,  Patti,  Ole  Bull, 
the  Countess  of  Landsfield,  Lucretia  Mott,  Lincoln,  and 
many  other  famous  men  and  women  who  lectured  in  its 
hall. 

The  Temple  was  of  generous  dimensions,  extending 
on  Washington  street  to  the  width  of  sixty-three  feet,  and 
on  Tennessee  street  to  the  length  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet.  It  was  three  stories  in  height,  and  built  in  the  sim 
ple  Doric  style.  The  entablature  of  the  front  was  sup 
ported  by  six  massive  columns,  thirty-three  feet  in  height, 
forming  a  grand  portico.  The  sides  and  rear  were 
finished  with  antas  of  the  same  height.  The  entire  en 
tablature  was  heavy  and  rich.  The  surface  of  the  build 
ing  was  covered  with  a  composition  resembling  stone. 
The  hall  was  nearly  a  hundred  feet  long  and  half  as 
broad,  with  a  paneled  ceiling  twenty  feet  above  the  floor. 
The  windows  were  long  and  wide,  admitting  a  flood  of 
light  and  air,  and  opening  upon  the  portico  or  upon  iron 
balconies. 

Among  the  most  noted  members  of  the  Convention  was 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  who  devoted  his  best  energies  to 
securing  the  adoption  of  a  section  guaranteeing  to  married 
women  the  right  to  hold  property.  In  this  he  was  opposed 
by  Mr.  Holman,  who  feared  the  effect  of  such  a  provision 


122  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

upon  the  family  relation.  The  latter  gentleman  subse 
quently  presented  a  petition,  signed  by  ladies  of  his 
county,  praying  for  the  adoption  of  the  same  provision. 
It  was  defeated  in  the  Convention,  but  was  embodied 
subsequently  in  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly.  Mr. 
Owen's  religious  views  were  the  subject  of  much  uncom 
plimentary  remark,  especially  from  Oliver  P.  Badger,  of 
Putnam  county.  In  reply  he  repeated  the  full  text  of 
Leigh  Hunt's  poem,  Abou  Ben  Adhem. 

Mr.  Badger  was  much  given  to  quoting  scripture,  and 
proved  to  his  own  satisfaction  at  least,  that  the  Bible  for 
bids  woman  the  legal  status  which  she  now  holds.  Walter 
March,  of  Delaware  county,  advocated  a  reform  of  the 
legal  practice  and  a  codification  of  the  laws,  and  was  suc 
cessful  in  securing  a  provision  for  such  a  measure. 
Horace  P.  Biddle  strongly  opposed  the  grand  jury  sys 
tem,  in  the  debate  upon  that  subject.  Schuyler  Colfax 
desired  to  submit  separately  to  the  people  a  section  con 
ferring  upon  negroes  the  right  of  suffrage.  John  Pettit 
was  perhaps  the  most  voluminous  speaker  of  all  the 
members,  and  was  certainly  one  of  the  hardest  workers. 

John  I.  Morrison,  the  most  renowned  of  Indiana  educa 
tors  in  an  early  day,  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Education.  In  accordance  with  the  views  of  "  One  of 
the  People,"  who  presented  a  "  message"  to  the  Conven 
tion,  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  create  in  the  State  gov 
ernment  a  Department  of  Public  Instruction.  Overruled 
by  the  committee,  he  made  a  personal  appeal  to  the 
Convention  itself,  and  secured  the  adoption  of  the  re 
jected  section  providing  for  the  Superintendency — a  sec 
tion  of  which  he  was  the  sole  author.  The  educational 
provisions  of  the  Constitution,  as  finally  formulated,  are 
liberal,  wise  and  comprehensive. 

The  discussions  were  generally  characterized  by  great 
interest,  and  even  now  are  fascinating  reading,  as  re 
corded  in  the  reports.  There  was  a  free  play  of  humor, 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  123 

intermixed  with  scenes  of  deep  and  solemn  earnestness. 
Once,  indeed,  the  Convention  went  into  a  committee  of 
the  whole  for  mere  amusement,  and  devoted  itself  en 
tirely  to  merriment,  though  there  was  method  even  in  this 
madness.  George  Tague,  of  Hancock  county,  had  been 
free  to  ridicule  others.  He  presented  a  resolution  "to 
abolish  the  common  law  of  England,"  probably  with  the 
same  purpose  which  Mr.  March  had  in  view,  but  without 
the  ability  to  present  the  matter  advantageously,  as  he 
was  little  versed  in  legal  matters.  A  happy  mood  came 
upon  all,  as  if  by  magic.  The  following  extract  from  the 
proceedings  shows  how  poor  Mr.  Tague  was  laughed 
down : 

Mr.  Gibson — I  propose  to  amend  the  resolution  by 
striking  out  the  word  "<?/","  and  inserting  the  word  "  in" 

so  that  it  will  read,  "  in  England." 

%  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Anthony — Mr.  Chairman,  I  propose  to  amend  the 
amendment   by   adding   to  the  resolution   these  words : 
"  and  forever  to  abolish  logic  and  the  mathematics." 
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Colfax — Mr.  President,  I  would  suggest  that  lest 
the  discussion  of  this  resolution  might  disturb  the  amica 
ble  relations  existing  between  the  Government  of  this 
county  and  the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  it  might  be 
prudent  for  us  to  sit  with  closed  doors. 

Mr.  Milroy — I  move  to  amend  the  amendment  by  add 
ing  the  following  words  :    "And  Queen  Victoria  and  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law." 
******** 

Mr.  Foster  —  Mr.    Chairman,    I    offer   the    following 
amendment,  to  come  in  at  the  end  of  the  resolution.    The 
amendment  was  read  by  the  Secretary,  as  follows  :  " And 
abolish  the  practice  of  manipulating." 
***  *  **  ** 

Mr.  Kilgore — I  desire  also  to  propose  an  amendment, 


124  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

whenever  it  shall  be  in  order,  by  adding  these  words  r 
"And  the  chills  and  fever." 

***  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Hovey — I  propose  to  amend  the  resolution  by  add 
ing  the  following  words  :  '  'And  that  the  Chairman  inform 
Her  Britannic  Majesty  by  telegraph  that  the  common 
law  in  England  is  abolished." 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Mather  proposed  to  amend  by  adding  these  words  : 
"So  as  to  make  hickory  bark  peel  the  whole  year 
round." 

Several  of  these  absurd  amendments  were  actuallv 
adopted,  and  the  completed  resolution  was  laid  on  the 
table,  on  motion  by  Mr.  Pettit,  who  thought  the  diversion 
had  been  carried  far  enough.  In  these  extravagances 
Mr.  Hendricks  did  not  join.  It  is  due  to  Mr.  Tague  to 
say  that  his  remarks  on  the  proposed  resolution  were 
modest,  direct  and  well  expressed,  and  that  they  con 
tained  much  good  sense — though  his  resolution,  of  course, 
was  not  in  form  to  be  entertained. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1851  Mr.  Hendricks  addressed 
the  Convention  in  a  masterly  manner,  delivering  a  speech 
which  remains  in  record  one  of  the  notable  American  state 
papers  on  finance.  The  subject  discussed  was  Banks  and 
Banking.  The  speaker  was  opposed  to  free  banking,  and 
also  to  banks  in  which  the  State  should  be  a  stock-holder. 
In  the  State  Bank  system  of  his  own  commonwealth,  he 
took  an  honest  pride.  Indiana  was  one  of  the  few  States 
which  had  solved  the  problem  of  banks  under  a  State 
system,  providing  for  the  people  a  currency  which  was- 
equally  valuable  in  New  Orleans,  New  York,  and  In 
dianapolis.  All  the  thirteen  Branch  Banks,  scattered 
through  the  State,  were  responsible  for  the  failure  of  any  of 
their  number,  but  each  retained  its  own  profits  undivided. 
When  other  States  were  flooded  with  worthless  bills,  the 
paper  of  the  Indiana  Bank  was  as  reliable  as  the  "  green- 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  125 

backs  "  of  the  Federal  Government  in  later  years.  The 
creation  of  a  vast  national  debt,  in  war  time,  furnished 
the  basis  for  banks  under  Federal  charters — for  a  system 
of  "  national  banks,"  rendering  such  a  system  as  that  of 
Indiana  unnecessary  at  the  present  time.  Should  the 
national  bank  system  disappear  and  the  national  debt  be 
paid,  together,  the  occasion  will  be  ripe  for  the  establish 
ment  of  a  system  similar  to  our  old  one  in  the  nation 
at  large.  One  modification  Mr.  Hendricks  favored, 
for  the  old  Indiana  Bank  stock  was  owned  in  part  by 
the  State,  and  to  all  such  ownership  he  made  objec 
tion.  The  speech  of  Mr.  Hendricks  on  this  occasion  is 
reproduced  in  the  second  part  of  this  volume.  It  gave 
him  a  wide  reputation  at  once.  It  enlisted  the  earnest  at 
tention  of  financiers,  at  home  and  abroad.  One  is  surprised, 
indeed,  that  so  young  a  statesman  should  display  so  pro 
found  a  knowledge  of  finance.  In  advocating  his  State  sys 
tem  of  "a  bank  with  branches"  and  opposing  free  banking, 
Mr.  Hendricks  was  only  partially  successful.  The  Con 
stitution  as  adopted  permits  "  a  general  banking  law" 
and  "a  bank  with  branches" — both  or  either.  Yet  if 
banks  under  State  charters  become  again  an  important 
factor  in  finance,  there  is  little  question  that  the  latter 
plan  will  obtain. 

The  death  of  ex-Vice-President  Richard  M.  Johnson 
occurred  in  the  midst  of  the  session,  and  resolutions 
appropriate  to  the  event  were  at  once  passed  by  the 
Convention.  It  would  seem  that  Colonel  Johnson  was 
a  man  of  remarkable  independence  of  thought  and  ac 
tion.  A  typical  Southron,  while  all  the  South  was 
aghast  at  the  suggestion  of  race  equality  even  before  the 
law,  he  was  in  advance  of  most  Abolitionists  in  upholding 
the  social  equality  of  the  races  ;  and  when  the  South 
steadily  opposed  aught  that  might  result  in  northern 
annexations,  fearing  to  turn  the  scale  of  political  power 
in  the  Republic  against  the  Southern  States,  he  lent  his 


126  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

active  sympathies  to  the  Patriots  in  the  Canadas  in  the 
uprising  of  1837-9.  For  this  last,  the  son  of  a  Canadian 
exile  deems  it  a  privilege  to  lay  a  single  wreath  upon  the 
tomb  of  the  old  hero.  Peace  to  his  memory  ! 

The  Convention  adjourned  February  10,  1,851.  Har 
vey  Fowler  reported  its  proceedings,  and  Austin  H. 
Brown  printed  them  in  proper  form.  The  volumes  con 
taining  the  debates  are  rare  and  costly,  but  have  been 
much  sought  after  in  the  years  that  have  intervened. 

A  meeting  of  the  survivors  of  the  Convention  was  held 
at  English's  Opera  House  in  Indianapolis,  October  5, 
1885.  The  venerable  President,  George  W.  Carr,  was 
again  called  to  the  chair.  Mr.  W.  H.  English  was  Sec 
retary,  as  of  old.  Elder  Badger  invoked  the  blessing  of 
God,  as  in  other  days. 

Many  letters  from  absent  members  were  read.  A  pos 
thumous  paper  from  John  I.  Morrison  was  produced,  and 
speeches  were  made  by  several  present.  Vice-President 
Hendricks  spoke  as  follows : 

"  The  several  States  of  our  Union  are  endowed  with  all 
the  powers  that  may  be  exercised  by  free  and  independ 
ent  communities,  which  are  not  prohibited  by  their  own 
Constitutions,  nor  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  which  are  consistent  with  their  relations  to  each  other 
and  to  the  Federal  Union.  The  work  of  revising  a  State 
Constitution  consists  mainly  in  declaring  the  rights  of 
the  people,  in  limiting  and  defining  the  powers  intended 
to  be  exercised,  and  in  prohibiting  powers  not  intended 
to  be  exercised,  rather  than  in  creating  rights  or  confer 
ring  powers  not  possessed.  It  will  be  observed,  there 
fore,  that  the  amendments  made  by  the  Convention  of 
1850-1  consist  mainly  in  providing  additional  protection 
to  natural  rights,  in  removing  restrictions  therefrom,  and 
in  regulating  the  exercise  of  powers  already  recognized 
as  existing.  The  Legislative  Department  exercises  a  dis 
cretion  in  its  action  far  beyond  that  permitted  to  either 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  127 

of  the  other  Departments,  even  extending  to  their  con 
trol  in  important  respects,  and  therefore  the  amendments 
affecting  it  and  its  mode  of  proceeding  were  of  special 
importance. 

"As  brieflv  as  possible,  I  will  endeavor  to  revive  a  recol 
lection  of  the  amendments  made  by  the  Convention. 
Under  the  old  Constitution  the  sessions  of  the  Legisla 
ture  were  annual.  The  laws  were  then  subject  to  con 
stant  modification  and  repeal.  Biennial  sessions  were 
substituted,  with  the  authority  on  the  part  of  the  Gov 
ernor  to  call  extra  sessions  to  provide  for  special  emer 
gencies.  Experience  has  shown  the  wisdom  of  the 
change.  Legislation  has  been  more  carefully  conducted  ; 
the  laws  have  become  more  stable ;  and  the  people  have 
been  able  better  to  know  what  the  laws  are.  It  was  also 
provided" that  no  regular  session  should  exceed  sixty-one 
days  in  length,  nor  any  special  session  forty  days.  At 
the  time  of  its  adoption  this  limitation  was  not,  perhaps, 
too  great ;  but  experience  now  shows  that  it  prevents  the 
careful  and  thorough  consideration  of  the  constantly  in 
creasing  subjects  of  legislation.  This  provision  may  be 
readily  modified,  under  the  clause  providing  for  amend 
ments.  To  promote  care  and  integrity  in  legislation, 
provisions  were  made  requiring  every  bill  to  be  read 
throughout  on  three  several  days,  unless  the  rule  be  sus 
pended  on  the  call  of  the  ayes  and  noes  ;  but  on  the  final 
passage  the  rule  can  not  be  suspended  ;  and  a  majority 
of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  branch,  voting  on  the 
ayes  and  noes,  shall  be  necessary  to  pass  a  bill.  No  law 
may  be  amended  by  reference  to  its  title  ;  but  the  amended 
law  must  be  set  forth  at  its  full  length.  Under  the  de 
cisions  of  the  courts,  the  last  provision  is  of  but  modified 
value.  It  is  often  difficult  to  tell  what  is  amended  and 
what  is  amendment.  The  provision  that  no  law  shall 
embrace  more  than  one  subject  is  useful  and  important. 
It  has  stopped  log-rolling  in  legislation ;  a  meritorious 


128  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

measure  can  not  now  be  made  to  carry  one  that  has 
neither  merit  nor  strength. 

4 'Among  the  best  reforms  of  the  new  Constitution  was 
that  which  forbade  special  legislation  where  general  laws 
can  be  made  applicable.  Under  it,  special  privileges  have 
given  way  to  public  right,  regulated  by  general  legisla 
tion.  The  provision  authorizing  the  Legislature  to  pro 
vide  for  suing  the  State  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
demanded  by  public  sentiment.  The  Legislature  has 
uniformly  declined  to  exercise  the  power  conferred.  The 
amendments  affecting  the  executive  department  of  the 
State  were  less  important.  The  official  terms  of  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  were  changed  from  three 
to  four  years,  so  as  to  correspond  with  the  biennial  ses 
sions  of  the  Legislature,  and  those  officers  were  made 
ineligible  for  more  than  four  years  in  any  period  of  eight 
years,  and  to  any  other  State  office  during  the  term  for 
which  they  were  elected.  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  were  formerly  chosen  by  appointment  of  the  Gov 
ernor  and  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  and  the  Judges  of 
the  Circuit  Court  by  joint  vote  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
Legislature.  By  the  new  Constitution  they  are  made 
elective — the  former  by  the  people  of  the  State,  and  the 
latter  by  the  people  of  the  circuit.  They  are  ineligible  to 
any  other  than  judicial  offices  during  the  term  for  which 
they  are  elected.  The  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  are 
required,  upon  the  decision  of  every  case,  to  give  a  state 
ment  in  writing  of  each  question  arising  in  the  record, 
and  to  make  a  decision  thereon.  The  repeal  of  that  pro 
vision  would  relieve  that  court  of  great  labor,  without,  as 
I  believe,  any  hurt  to  the  public  interest.  Such  regula 
tion  may  be  safely  left  to  legislative  discretion. 

"The  limitation  upon  the  legislative  power  to  confer 
original  jurisdiction  upon  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the  Con 
stitution  of  1816,  is  removed  by  a  provision  in  Article  VII 
of  the  new  Constitution,  and  the  Legislature  is  allowed 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  129 

entire  discretion  on  that  subject.  The  duty  was  imposed 
upon  the  Legislature  to  provide  for  law  reform,  and 
promptly  and  faithfully  was  it  discharged.  The  impor 
tance  and  value  of  the  reform  is  felt  in  the  rapid  dispatch 
of  business  in  the  courts,  in  the  relief  from  vexatious  and 
bewildering  technicalities,  and  in  the  increased  certainty 
that  justice  will  be  done.  Experience  has  shown  the  re 
form  to  be  much  more  valuable  than  at  the  time  was  sup 
posed.  The  Indiana  code  does  honor  to  the  Convention 
that  imposed  the  duty  to  revise  and  simplify  the  practice 
and  forms  of  the  courts ;  to  the  Commissioners,  who  be 
stowed  patient  labor,  great  learning  and  excellent  judg 
ment  upon  its  production  ;  and  upon  the  Legislature,  for 
its  prompt  approval  and  enactment. 

"  The  benevolent  institutions  of  the  State,  the  cause  of 
education  and  the  security  of  the  common-school  fund 
were  wisely  and  permanently  provided  for.  By  a  wise 
provision  of  the  new  Constitution,  our  State  and  county 
authorities  have  been  prohibited  from  contracting  any 
serious  indebtedness,  and  the  influence  of  that  provision 
has  been  most  salutary.  Enterprise  and  development  have 
advanced,  and  the  people  have  accumulated  wealth, 
relieved  of  the  fear  and  danger  of  crushing  taxation. 
Systems  of  State  and  free  banking  were  provided  for, 
and  a  well  regulated  State  Bank  was  established,  which 
for  some  years  contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  our 
trade  and  commerce ;  but  its  currency  has  been  wholly 
superseded  by  that  of  the  national  banks.  The  pro 
visions  on  the  subject  of  banking  are  substantially  obso 
lete. 

"An  article  prohibiting  the  further  settlement  of  Ne 
groes  and  mulattoes  in  this  State  was  submitted  to  the 
people,  separately  from  the  other  parts  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  was  adopted  by  a  large  vote.  After  the  adop 
tion  of  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
9 


130  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

States  the  provisions  of  that  article  were  inconsistent  in 
spirit  with  the  rights  of  the  colored  race,  and  the  article 
was  stricken  from  the  Constitution  of  the  State  by  an 
amendment  subsequently  adopted.  By  the  old  Constitu 
tion  the  right  to  vote  was  restricted  to  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  Under  the  new  Constitution  that  right  was 
extended  to  foreigners  resident  in  the  United  States  for 
one  year,  and  in  this  State  six  months  immediately  before 
any  election,  and  who  shall  have  declared,  under  oath, 
their  intention  to  become  citizens.  The  mode  of  electing 
some  of  the  State  officers  was  so  changed  as  to  make 
them  elective  by  the  people,  and  changes  were  also 
made  in  their  terms  of  office,  and  also  in  the  terms  of 
some  of  the  county  officers.  Important  additions  were 
made  to  the  bill  of  rights,  in  favor  of  individual  right  and 
the  right  of  conscience. 

1.  No  person  shall  be  held  incompetent  as  a  witness 
in  consequence  of  his  opinion  in  matters  of  religion. 

2.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  for  the 
benefit  of  any  religious  or  theological  institution. 

3.  The    assessed   value  of  private  property  shall    be 
tendered  before  such  property  can  be  taken,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  State. 

4.  A  reasonable  amount  of  the  debtor's  property  shall 
be  exempt  from  seizure  and  sale. 

5.  The  right  of  trial  by  jury  is  extended. 

6.  Privileges  and  immunities  shall  not  be  granted  to 
one  citizen  or  class  of  citizens,  which,  upon  the  same 
terms,  shall  not  equally  belong  to  all  citizens. 

"  The  new  Constitution  provides  the  mode  in  which  it 
may  be  amended.  Any  proposed  amendment  shall  be 
considered  by  the  Legislature  at  two  separate  sessions  ; 
and  if  agreed  to  at  both  sessions,  it  shall  be  submitted  to 
the  electors  of  the  State  ;  and  if  ratified  by  them,  it  shall 
become  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  The  people  are  made 
secure  against  hasty  amendments.  No  proposition  can 


THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION.  131 

pass  these  ordeals  without  being  thoroughly  considered 
and  well  understood.  Future  amendments  that  experi 
ence  may  indicate,  can  be  made  in  the  manner  provided, 
without  much  delay,  without  cost  to  the  people,  and  with 
every  assurance  that  it  is  wisely  and  well  done. 

"  The  amendments  made  by  the  Convention  of  1851  ex 
tended  to  every  Department,  and  have  influenced  every 
branch  of  the  public  service.  The  Convention  "  builded 
better  than  it  knew.11  Its  work  has  borne  the  hard  test 
of  experience.  We  may  judge  somewhat  of  its  excellence 
by  the  fact  that  during  the  thirty-four  years  that  have  since 
elapsed,  but  few  amendments  have  been  required  ;  in  all, 
I  believe,  but  nine,  and  those  mostly  because  of  changes 
that  have  since  taken  place.  Three  of  the  latter  amend 
ments  relate  to  the  change  in  the  legal  status  and  condi 
tion  of  the  colored  race,  made  by  'the  amendments  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Another  of  the 
amendments  was  required  to  make  the  time  of  our  general 
election  agree  with  the  time  fixed  by  Congress  for  the 
election  of  members  of  Congress.  The  increased  popu 
lation  of  the  State  made  it  necessary,  in  order  to  defeat 
illegal  voting,  to  fix  by  constitutional  amendment  a 
period  of  residence  in  the  voting  precinct  before  the  right 
to  vote  shall  be  exercised.  The  increasing  disparity  in 
the  fees  and  salaries  of  public  officers  made  an  amend 
ment  necessary  so  as  to  permit  special  legislation  on  that 
subject.  It  seems  also  to  have  been  thought  necessary 
to  modify  the  language  used  in  defining  the  judicial 
power.  The  last  of  the  amendments  was  useful,  but  it 
did  not  relate  to  matters  of  interest  to  the  State.  It  was 
a  provision  limiting  the  amount  of  taxation  in  cities  and 
municipal  corporations. 

"  By  an  amendment  adopted  in  1873,  the  Legislature  is 
prohibited  ever  to  recognize  any  liability  of  the  State  to 
pay  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal  bonds.  Thereby  that 
question  was  forever  put  at  rest.  In  scarcely  a  single  in- 


132  THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

stance  have  the  late  amendments  become  necessary  be 
cause  of  any  defective  or  incomplete  work  on  the  part  of 
the  Convention  of  1851.  The  Constitution  then  adopted 
stands  almost  without  change  or  modification.  Under 
its  provisions  the  people  have  maintained  local  self- 
government  in  its  highest  excellence.  In  peace  and  in 
war  its  has  guarded  their  rights,  protected  their  interests, 
and  promoted  their  welfare  and  prosperity. 

"  I  congratulate  you  who  are  living,  and  I  honor  the 
memories  of  the  delegates  who  are  dead,  for  the  perfect 
work  done  by  the  Convention.'1 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM. 

Mr.  Hendricks  entered  upon  his  national  career  at  a 
memorable  period  in  our  history.  It  was  the  beginning 
of  a  new  half-century.  It  was  a  time  for  new  measures 
and  new  men.  The  members  of  the  illustrious  trio  in 
which  all  memories  of  previous  decades  center,  were 
passing  away.  Calhoun  had  departed  from  earth  in  the 
preceding  year,  and  Clay  and  Webster  were  nearing  the 
portals  of  the  tomb.  As  if  to  symbolize  the  change,  new 
chambers  were  planned  for  the  Congresses  of  the  future, 
and  the  process  of  transforming  the  old  Capitol  into  the 
vast  legislative  palace  of  to-day  had  already  begun. 

The  slavery  question,  it  was  hoped,  was  settled — if  not 
forever,  at  least  for  years  to  come.  The  great  Compro 
mise  Measures  of  1850  had  been  the  work  of  statesmen 
of  both  parties,  and  Senators  and  Congressmen  had  vied 
with  each  other  in  support  of  them.  Senator  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  of  Illinois,  was  always  fond  of  relating  the 
story  of  this  compromise  ;  and  since  that  story  depicts  the 
last  dramatic  scene  in  the  legislation  of  the  closing  half- 
century,  it  is  here  given  in  the  Senator's  words : 

"This  country  was  agitated  from  its  center  to  its  cir 
cumference  by  the  slavery  agitation.  All  eyes  in  the 
nation  were  turned  to  the  three  great  lights  that  survived 
the  days  of  the  Revolution.  They  looked  to  Clay,  then 
in  retirement  at  Ashland,  and  to  Webster  and  Cass  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  Clay  had  retired  to  Ashland, 
having,  as  he  supposed,  performed  his  mission  on  earth, 

(133) 


134  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST   TERM. 

and  was  preparing  himself  for  a  better  sphere  of  existence 
in  another  world.  In  that  retirement  he  heard  the  dis 
cordant,  harsh  and  grating  sounds  of  sectional  strife  and 
disunion,  and  he  aroused  and  came  forth  and  resumed 
his  seat  in  the  Senate,  the  great  theater  of  his  great 
deeds. 

"From  the  moment  that  Clay  arrived  among  us,  he 
became  the  leader  of  all  the  Union  men,  whether  Whigs 
or  Democrats.  For  nine  months  we  each  assembled 
each  day  in  the  council  chamber,  Clay  in  the  chair,  with 
Cass  upon  his  right  hand  and  Webster  upon  his  left,  and 
the  Democrats  and  Whigs  gathered  round,  forgetting 
differences,  and  only  animated  by  one  common,  patriotic 
sentiment,  to  devise  means  and  measures  by  which  we 
could  defeat  the  mad  and  revolutionary  scheme  of  the 
Northern  Abolitionists  and  Southern  Disunionists.  We 
did  devise  those  means.  Clay  brought  them  forward, 
Cass  advocated  them,  the  Union  Whigs  and  Union  Dem 
ocrats  voted  for  them,  Fillmore  signed  them,  and  they 
gave  peace  and  quiet  to  the  country." 

The  Compromise  of  1850  was  very  unlike  the  Missouri 
Compromise  of  thirty  years  before.  The  latter  was  a 
very  simple  one,  consisting  of  but  two  provisions  ;  Mis 
souri  was  admitted  as  a  Slave  State,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  all  the  rest  of  the  national  domain  in  the  West  which 
lay  north  of  latitude  36°  30'  should  be  forever  free.  The 
new  Compromise  of  1850  was  a  complicated  affair.  It 
was  rendered  necessary  by  the  annexation  of  Texas  with 
indefinite  boundaries  and  the  acquisition  of  lands  from 
Mexico  at  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  to  all  of  which 
new  territory  the  Missouri  Compromise  did  not  in  terms 
apply.  It  took  into  consideration  various  disconnected 
subjects  of  dispute  which  had  helped  to  estrange  the  sec 
tions.  In  view  of  its  motley  character,  it  was  called  an 
Omnibus  Upset.  The  principal  provisions  of  this  Com 
promise  were  five  in  number,  as  follows : 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM.  135 

1.  California  was  admitted  as  a  free  State,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  wishes  of  her  people,  who  of  their  own  ac 
cord  had  adopted  a  free  State  Constitution. 

2.  Utah  and  New  Mexico  Territories  were  organized, 
and  permitted  to  work  their  own  will   in  the   matter  of 
freedom  or  slavery,  being  left  without  congressional  re 
striction  on  the  subject. 

3.  Texas  was  paid  $10,000,000  to  relinquish  her  claim 
to  a  large  region  on  the  left  bank  of  the   Rio   Grande, 
which  was  now  to  form  a  part  of  New  Mexico. 

4.  The  domestic  slave  trade  was  prohibited  in  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia. 

5.  A  more  stringent  law  was  enacted  for  the  capture 
and  rendition  of  fugitive  slaves. 

That  California,  if  admitted,  should  be  permitted,  as  a 
State,  to  regulate  her  own  domestic  concerns,  was  not 
strange,  but  was  in  exact  conformity  with  the  popular 
idea  of  the  rights  of  the  States.  Utah  and  New  Mexico, 
however,  were  not  States,  but  Territories.  There  could 
be  no  "  State  sovereignty"  in  their  case,  and  the  term 
" popular  sovereignty"  was  invented  to  characterize  this 
exercise  of  power  by  a  Territory.  Such  a  course  had 
been  suggested  in  1848  by  General  Cass  in  the  celebrated 
''Nicholson  letter,"  and  had  been  advised  by  President 
Taylor  in  his  only  message  to  Congress,  in  1849. 

Taylor  was  a  Louisiana  slaveholder,  but  not  a  pro- 
slavery  extremist.  He  was  much  influenced  by  Senator 
Seward,  the  anti-slavery  Whig  statesman  of  the  Empire 
State.  Vice-President  Fillmore  had  been  an  anti-slavery 
leader  of  the  same  party  in  the  same  commonwealth,  but 
became  the  leader  of  the  more  conservative  Whigs  at  the 
capital.  The  feeling  of  rivalry  existing  between  the  two 
New  York  statesmen  had  its  influence,  doubtless,  in 
making  them  chiefs  of  opposing  factions.  On  succeeding 
to  the  Presidency  through  the  death  of  Taylor,  while  the 
Compromise  Measures  were  pending,  Fillmore  called 


136  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM. 

Webster  to  his  cabinet,  leaving  Clay  to  be  the  last  of  the 
old  trio  in  the  Senate.  The  new  President  readily 
signed  the  various  bills  of  the  Omnibus  Upset. 

Thus,  upon  the  leading  questions  which  divided  the 
people,  the  Whig  Administration  and  leaders  were  in  ac 
cord  with  the  leading  Democrats  in  Congress. 

The  career  of  Mr.  Hendricks  in  the  Constitutional 
Convention  marked  him  as  a  suitable  man  to  represent 
his  district  in  Congress.  That  district — the  fifth — was  a 
large  one,  extending  from  Brown  county  on  the  south  to 
Tipton  on  the  north,  and  from  Madison  on  the  east  to 
Hendricks  on  the  west.  It  had  been  ably  represented  for 
many  years  by  Jonathan  McCarty,  James  H.  Rariden, 
Andrew  Kennedy,  William  J.  Brown,  William  W.  Wick 
and,  again,  William  J.  Brown.  So  extensive  a  constitu 
ency,  including  the  State  capital,  demanded  a  candidate 
of  more  than  local  reputation  and  of  superior  qualifica 
tions.  To  enter  the  legislative  councils  of  the  Republic 
seemed  to  Mr.  Hendricks  a  worthy  and  laudable  ambi 
tion  ;  and  as  his  name  was  brought  forward  with  enthusi 
asm  by  the  Democrats  of  Shelby,  he  entered  the  lists 
with  a  determination  to  win. 

The  Congressional  Convention  was  held  at  Indiana 
polis  in  the  Senate  chamber,  on  May  16.  There  was  no 
end  of  candidates.  One  county  presented  six,  and  nearly 
every  one  had  at  least  a  single  "  favorite  son."  Thirty- 
two  ballots  were  taken  without  result,  and  on  the  thirty- 
third  the  contest  was  terminated  in  favor  of  the  young 
man  from  Shelby  county.  This,  it  may  be  remarked, 
was  the  last  time  that  Mr.  Hendricks  ever  secured  a 
nomination  against  any  considerable  opposition.  In 
every  subsequent  instance  where  he  was  chosen  as  a 
candidate  for  office,  it  was  practically,  if  not  absolutely, 
unanimous. 

Colonel  James  P.  Rush,  of  Hancock  county,  was  nom 
inated  by  the  Whigs  as  his  opponent,  and  exerted  him- 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM.  137 

self  to  make  a  strong  race.  It  was  a  singular  canvass. 
Scarcely  any  of  the  old  questions  which  had  divided  the 
parties  were  longer  living  issues.  For  the  Compromise 
Measures  of  the  year  before,  both  parties  were  responsi 
ble.  The  most  unpopular  of  those  measures  in  the  North 
was  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  As  yet,  the  public  indigna 
tion  had  not  been  fully  aroused  against  it,  but  an  influ 
ence  was  being  brought  to  bear  which  would  lash  into 
fury  the  feelings  of  the  masses  in  the  Northern  States. 
The  wife  of  Professor  C.  E.  Stowe,  of  Andover,  was  at 
that  time  conducting  in  the  columns  of  the  National  Era 
— the  anti-slavery  paper  at  Washington — a  fascinating 
serial  story  of  "  Life  Among  the  Lowly,"  portraying 
vividly  the  crimes  and  horrors  attendant  upon  the  system 
of  slavery  in  the  South.  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  as  it 
was  called,  was  received  with  the  highest  favor  at  home 
and  abroad,  though,  of  course,  it  was  condemned  by  the 
South.  In  subsequent  editions  it  achieved  a  wider  popu 
larity  and  exerted  a  deeper  influence  than  any  other  book 
of  its  class.  The  force  of  its  influence  was  not  strong  in 
Indiana  as  yet,  and  the  congressional  issue  was  reduced 
almost  to  a  choice  of  men. 

A  local  incident  of  the  canvass  represents  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  as  a  "log  roller"  in  a  very  literal  sense  of  the 
term,  and  is  related  as  follows : 

Though  the  Central  District,  the  back  counties  were 
in  the  back  woods.  The  northern  part  of  Hamilton  and 
all  of  Tipton  county  were  new.  Journeying  one  day  to 
fill  an  appointment  in  a  neighborhood  yet  several  miles 
distant,  he  alighted  from  his  horse — the  only  means  of 
navigation  at  all  practicable  in  those  days — to  help  a  man 
who  was  doing  the  hard  work  of  rolling  logs.  He  was 
trying  to  accomplish  the  task  (always  difficult  for  one) 
of  putting  the  third  log  on  the  top  of  two  lying  together. 
But  with  assistance  it  was  easily  executed.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks,  without  explanation  as  to  his  purpose,  mounted 


138  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST   TERM. 

and  proceeded.  That  was  at  a  point  in  Hamilton  county. 
He  was  to  speak  that  day  in  New  Lancaster,  Tipton 
county.  The  day  after,  he  addressed  a  meeting  at  Box- 
leytown,  in  Hamilton  county.  The  exercises  concluded, 
a  gentleman  came  forward  and  asked  Mr.  Hendricks, — 

"  Did  you  assist  a  man  rolling  logs  [at  such  a  place] 
day  before  yesterday?  " 

"  Yes,  I  believe  I  did,"  wras  the  answer. 

"  Well,  that  settles  it,"  the  interlocutor  replied.  "  We 
allowed  that  it  was  you.  The  man  who  is  neighborly 
enough  to  give  that  character  of  assistance,  and  so  polite 
as  to  conceal  the  fact  of  his  candidacy  upon  such  occa 
sion,  is  our  man  for  Congress.  That  was  my  son-in-law. 
He  and  another  son-in-law,  my  son,  and  myself  are 
Whigs,  but  we  have  determined  to  vote  for  you." 

The  returns  from  that  precinct  showed  that  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  received  four  Whig  votes.  While  his  discourse 
may  have  aroused  the  Democrats,  by  log  rolling  he  ac 
tually  changed  eight  votes. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  Colonel 
in  popularity,  and  the  district  was  moreover  deemed  re 
liably  Democratic.  The  Democrats  won.  Their  major 
ity  was  between  three  and  four  thousand  votes.  In  a  few 
weeks  the  Congressman-elect  made  the  journey  to  the 
Federal  Capital. 

The  old  House  and  Senate  chambers  were  still  used, 
though  their  abandonment  for  the  ne\ver  halls  had  long 
been  resolved  upon,  and  the  vast  additions  to  the  original 
edifice  were  then  preparing.  The  Hall  of  the  Representa 
tives  was  the  room  now  used  as  the  National  Statuary 
Hall.  In  shape  it  is  a  semicircle,  with  a  chord  of  ninety- 
six  feet  and  a  half-dome  rising  to  the  height  of  fifty-seven 
feet.  The  old  Senate  Chamber,  now  the  room  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  was  of  similar  shape  but  of  smaller  size. 
Both  halls  were  of  peculiar  interest  to  Mr.  Hendricks, 
for  in  both  the  voice  of  his  uncle  had  been  heard  through 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM.  139 

busy  years  of  legislation  ;  more  than  this,  the  very  walls 
seemed  to  speak  of  all  the  greater  orators  and  statesmen 
who  had  guided  our  nation's  course  from  the  earlier  days 
of  the  Republic.  Greenough's  statue  of  Washington 
stood  in  its  present  place,  facing  the  Capitol,  and  several 
of  the  great  historic  paintings  were  accounted  old.  The 
Executive  Mansion  appeared,  in  exterior  at  least,  much  as 
it  appears  to-day,  though  Mills's  great  equestrian  statue 
of  Jackson  was  not  then  to  be  found  in  the  adjoining 
grounds. 

The  first  session  of  the  Thirty-second  Congress  com 
menced  on  the  first  of  December,  1851.  The  Democrats 
had  a  good  working  majority.  Linn  Boyd,  of  Kentucky, 
was  elected  Speaker,  receiving  118  votes  of  the  214  that 
were  cast ;  and  John  W.  Forney,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
chosen  to  the  Clerkship,  receiving  128  votes.  When  the 
appointment  of  committees  was  announced,  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  name  was  found  upon  two — the  Committees  on 
Mileage  and  Expenditures  in  the  Treasury  Depart 
ment.  Later,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  special  commit 
tee  of  five  to  inquire  into  the  firmness  and  stability  of  the 
foundations  laid  for  the  extension  of  the  Capitol  buildings. 
He  was  continued  upon  all  these  committees  through  the 
two  sessions  of  the  Congress.  There  was  a  lull  in  the 
slavery  agitation,  and  the  attention  of  the  law  makers 
was  given  largely  to  other  matters. 

Mr.  Hendricks  heartily  supported  the  Senate  Joint- 
Resolution  of  welcome  to  Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hungarian 
exile,  in  the  same  month.  It  appeared  at  first  that  this 
resolution  would  be  passed  unanimously,  for  in  Kossuth 
Americans  saw  a  hero  of  their  own  pattern,  who  had 
dared  to  fight  for  the  right  of  local  self-government  and 
against  the  despotism  of  the  old  monarchal  system.  The 
extreme  anti-slavery  men,  however,  turned  the  matter  to 
their  own  account  by  making  party  capital  of  it,  and 
coupled  their  eulogies  of  the  great  home-rule  advocate 


140  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST   TERM. 

of  the  Hungarians  with  invectives  against  the  slave-hold 
ers  of  America.  This  drove  away  some  of  the  Southern 
support  which  the  resolution  might  otherwise  have  had, 
and  this  opposition  to  the  resolution  was  turned  to  still 
greater  partisan  advantage.  The  extremists  would  have 
been  most  pleased  could  they  have  been  its  only  support 
ers,  for  in  that  event  they  could  have  claimed  a  monopoly 
of  regard  for  representative  government.  It  is  strange 
that  these  very  extremists,  in  later  years,  succeeding  the 
war,  favored  measures  which  crushed  out  representative 
government  in  some  of  the  American  States,  and  substi 
tuted  military  control,  establishing  and  continuing  for 
years  a  state  of  subjection  and  humiliation  similar  to  that 
which  Kossuth  had  sought  to  terminate  in  Hungary. 

In  January,  following,  it  was  proposed  to  give  the  use 
of  the  Hall  of  the  Representatives  to  the  Colonization 
Society,  as  a  mark  of  appreciation  of  the  benevolent  de 
sign  of  that  organization.  A  motion  to  that  effect  was 
lost,  to  the  regret  of  Mr.  Hendricks,  who  missed  no  op 
portunity  of  showing  his  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  hu 
man  freedom. 

The  popular  reaction  against  the  Fugitive  Slave  law 
grew  and  extended,  from  day  to  day.  Yet  the  Constitu 
tion  declared  unequivocally  that  a  "person  held  to  ser 
vice  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escap 
ing  to  another  *  *  shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of 
the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due.'' 
Loyalty  to  the  Constitution  required  a  fugitive  slave  law 
of  some  form.  Faithfulness  to  a  solemn  agreement  of 
compromise  between  the  sections  forbade  its  uncondi 
tional  repeal.  Even  as  late  as  1858,  when  the  defects  of 
the  law  were  more  fully  known  and  realized,  ex-Con 
gressman  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  declared  as  fol 
lows: 

"In  regard  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  I  have  never 
hesitated  to  say,  and  I  do  not  now  hesitate  to  say,  that  I 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM.  141 

think,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the 
people  of  the  Southern  States  are  entitled  to  a  Congres 
sional  Fugitive  Slave  law.  Having  said  this,  I  have  had 
nothing  to  say  in  regard  to  the  existing  Fugitive  Slave 
law,  further  than  that  I  think  it  should  have  been  framed 
so  as  to  be  free  from  some  of  the  objections  that  pertain 
to  it,  without  lessening  its  efficiency.  And  inasmuch  as 
we  are  not  now  in  an  agitation  in  regard  to  an  alteration 
or  modification  of  that  law,  I  would  not  be  the  man  to 
introduce  it  as  a  new  subject  of  agitation  upon  the  gen 
eral  question  of  slavery." 

Such  was  the  position  of  Mr.  Hendricks  in  Congress. 
He  had  had  no  part  in  the  enactment  of  the  law,  nor  did 
it  commend  itself  in  all  respects  to  his  judgment.  Yet  he 
was  resolved  to  abide  by  the  Compromise  of  which  it 
was  a  part.  To  test  the  sense  of  the  House  upon  the 
subject,  the  following  resolutions  were  presented,  and 
brought  to  a  vote  on  the  5th  of  April  : 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  binding  efficacy  of 
the  compromises  of  the  Constitution,  and  believe  it  to  be 
the  intention  of  the  people  generally,  as  we  hereby  de 
clare  it  to  be  ours,  individually,  to  abide  by  such  com 
promises  and  to  sustain  the  laws  necessary  to  carry  them 
out — the  provision  for  the  delivery  of  fugitive  slaves  and 
the  act  of  the  last  Congress  for  that  purpose  included — 
and  that  we  deprecate  all  further  agitation  of  questions 
growing  out  of  that  provision,  of  the  questions  embraced 
in  the  acts  of  the  last  Congress  known  as  the  Compro 
mise,  and  of  questions  generally  connected  with  the  insti 
tution  of  slavery,  as  unnecessary,  useless  and  danger 
ous. 

Resolved,  That  the  series  of  acts  passed  during  the 
first  session  of  the  Thirty-first  Congress,  known  as  the 
Compromise,  are  regarded  as  a  final  adjustment  and  a 
permanent  settlement  of  the  questions  therein  embraced, 
and  should  be  maintained  and  executed  as  such. 


142  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM. 

Mr.  Hendricks  voted  for  these  resolutions,  as  did  the 
majority  of  the  House,  the  members  opposed  to  the  reso 
lutions  numbering,  respectively,  but  64  and  65  out  of  the 
165  who  voted — 64  being  recorded  against  the  first,  and 
65  against  the  last. 

It  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  the  young  Con 
gressman  would  make  an  extended  speech  in  the  first 
session  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  he  had  not  intended  to 
do  so,  until  the  discussion  of  certain  measures  which 
ever  strongly  enlisted  his  sympathies  called  him  to  the 
floor.  Those  measures  related  to  the  development  of  the 
great,  unpeopled  West.  Mr.  Hendricks  viewed  the  sub 
ject  from  the  standpoint  of  broad  philanthropy  and 
sound  national  policy.  He  desired  to  see  the  Americans 
a  nation  of  land-holders — not  of  tenants.  He  desired  to 
see  the  vast  plains  of  the  trans-Missouri  rapidly  peopled 
by  the  hardy  sons  of  toil  who  formed  the  pioneer  class  in 
all  the  new  settlements  of  the  Northwest.  He  believed 
that  the  institutions  of  freedom  were  safe  when  in  the 
hands  of  a  population  of  land-holders,  and  that  the  virgin 
soil  of  America  was  the  land  destined  of  Heaven  for  the 
solution  of  social  problems  relating  to  evils  handed  down 
from  former  generations  and  almost  ineradicable  where 
deep  rooted  in  old  nations  and  commonwealths. 

On  the  27th  of  April  he  addressed  the  House  upon  the 
subject  of  the  Homestead  bill  and  railway  land  grants. 
Mr.  Fuller,  of  Maine,  and  Mr.  Averett,  of  Virginia,  de 
nied  the  constitutional  right  of  Congress  to  devote  public 
lands  to  the  encouragement  of  internal  improvements, 
the  aid  of  education  or  public  charities.  Mr.  Hendricks 
reviewed  the  history  of  land  appropriations,  and  main 
tained  by  irrefutable  arguments  the  constitutionality  of 
such  measures.  He  proposed  a  substitute  for  the  home 
stead  measure,  which  he  deemed  better  suited  to  the  ac 
complishment  of  the  same  purpose.  He  quoted  the  wise 
suggestions  of  President  Jackson,  and  appealed  to  a  con- 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM.  143 

tinuous  line  of  precedents  which  are,  as  he  expressed  it, 
"so  numerous  in  every  administration  that  they  are  as 
footprints  along  the  pathway  of  the  country's  history." 
This  speech,  which  is  given  elsewhere,  made  a  profound 
impression,  and  doubtless  influenced  the  succeeding  leg 
islation  on  the  subject  of  Federal  aid  to  education  and 
public  improvements  by  means  of  land  grants. 

On  the  pth  of  June  the  death  of  Henry  Clay  was  an 
nounced  to  the  House,  which  immediately  adjourned. 
The  venerable  statesman  passed  away  at  his  chamber  in 
the  National  Hotel.  To  the  last,  his  thought  was  given 
to  the  welfare  of  his  country.  Senator  Douglas  called 
and  discussed  with  him,  in  his  last  days,  the  measures  of 
the  late  Compromise  ;  and  Clay  expressed  himself  confi 
dently  that  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  must  be 
observed  in  the  future,  as  the  true  settlement  of  the  slavery 
question.  Douglas  pledged  him,  at  that  death  bed,  to 
give  his  future  efforts  to  the  support  of  that  principle. 
Joshua  R.  Giddings,  the  Abolitionist,  called  to  make  re 
conciliation  with  the  departing  Senator,  and  the  widest 
differences  of  opinion  were  lost  in  the  presence  of  ap 
proaching  death.  The  nation  mourned  the  loss  of  its 
most  distinguished  citizen,  to  whom  the  Presidency  could 
scarcely  have  added  greater  honor. 

The  session  wore  on  through  the  hot  days  of  the  sum 
mer.  Late  in  July  Mr.  Hendricks  opposed  the  appropri 
ation  of  moneys  to  certain  river  and  harbor  improvements 
for  which  many  of  his  party  voted,  insisting  that  such 
use  of  the  public  funds  must  be  able  to  stand  the  test  of 
rigid  scrutiny. 

Scarcely  had  Congress  adjourned  when  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  was  required  to  make  another  campaign,  for  the 
new  State  Constitution  had  transferred  the  congressional 
elections  to  the  even  years  and  to  the  month  of  October. 
The  new  district  consisted  of  six  counties,  and  included 
the  State  capital,  as  before. 


144  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM. 

The  Whig  candidate,  John  H.  Bradley,  of  Indiana 
polis,  was  a  brilliant  man  of  mature  years,  and  a  public 
speaker  of  rare  power.  He  had  not  been  nominated  by 
a  convention,  but  had  announced  himself  as  a  candidate 
in  response  to  a  written  request  signed  by  three  of  his 
admirers  in  Indianapolis.  The  Whigs  adopted  him  as 
their  unquestioned  choice,  but  refrained  from  calling  a 
convention,  in  order  that  he  might  descant  upon  politi 
cians  and  parties,  and  pose  as  a  people's  non-partisan 
candidate.  He  made  a  thorough  canvass  of  Shelby 
county,  speaking  in  each  of  the  thirteen  townships. 

Mr.  Hendricks  had  made  but  one  engagement  in 
Shelby,  and  was  posted  for  a  speech  at  Flat  Rock  on  the 
day  preceding  the  election.  This  was  Mr.  Bradley's 
opportunity.  On  the  morning  of  that  day  he  arrived  in 
Shelbyville,  and  made  immediate  announcement  of  his 
intention  to  speak  in  the  court  house  in  the  afternoon. 
Hand-bills  and  criers  announced  the  speech,  the  former 
containing  specific  attacks  upon  Mr.  Hendricks's  record. 
A  large  rally  had  been  adroitly  worked  up  by  the  Whigs, 
and  the  town  was  soon  filled  with  people.  Something 
of  a  panic  seized  upon  the  Democrats.  They  had  ar 
ranged  no  off-set  to  the  enemy's  advance,  and  it  was  too 
late  to  plan  a  counter  demonstration.  Mr.  Bradley  and 
his  friends  were  correspondingly  elated,  confident  and 
arrogant. 

The  news  reached  Mr.  Hendricks  in  the  forenoon  at 
Flat  Rock.  He  spoke,  according  to  appointment,  and 
determined  to  speak  in  Shelbyville  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day.  He  had  not  planned  any  reply  to  Mr.  Brad 
ley.  The  address  at  Flat  Rock,  delivered  in  the  open 
air  to  a  large  audience,  was  sufficiently  fatiguing  for  a 
single  day's  work.  Then  there  was  a  journey  of  several 
miles  to  be  taken  in  the  interval.  Nothing  daunted, 
however,  he  set  out  for  Shelbyville  as  soon  as  he  had 
received  the  congratulations  of  his  hearers  at  Flat  Rock. 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM.  145 

Nearing  Shelbyville,  he  met  several  of  his  friends  who 
had  come  out  to  meet  him,  and  who  were  pictures  of  dis 
may  and  chagrin. 

After  partaking  hastily  of  a  light  luncheon,  they  re 
paired  to  the  court  room.  Mr.  Bradley  was  at  his  best, 
and  was  savagely  attacking  the  Congressman  when  the 
latter  entered.  He  avoided  the  slavery  question,  and 
.sought  to  draw  attention  to  other  matters.  He  com 
plained  bitterly  that  some  one  had  accused  him  of  aboli 
tion  tendencies,  and  characterized  that  person  as  a  liar. 
As  he  applied  the  epithet  he  gazed  fixedly  at  Mr.  Hen 
dricks,  who  had  just  entered  the  room.  All  turned  their 
glance  upon  the  young  man  who  was  the  recipient  of  the 
unjustifiable  fling,  and  the  Whigs  are  said  to  have  been 
"  charmed,  delighted  and  fairly  intoxicated  with  the 
aggressive  attitude  of  their  candidate." 

Mr.  Hendricks  received  their  focused  gaze  with  im 
perturbable  dignity,  and  with  a  self  confidence  which 
seemed  to  say,  "  Wait  for  my  time  to  talk  !  "  He  waited 
with  the  utmost  patience  and  composure  until  Mr.  Brad 
ley  had  concluded  and  had  sat  down,  and  then  without 
hesitation  ascended  the  steps  of  the  platform.  His 
speech  upon  this  occasion  was  unlike  any  other  effort  of 
his  life.  Mr.  Bradley  had  not  appealed  to  the  cooler 
judgment,  but  from  the  first  to  the  last  had  inflamed  the 
passions  of  his  hearers,  and  had  made  the  most  of  theat 
rical  effects.  Mr.  Hendricks  resolved  to  meet  him  with 
his  own  weapons.  The  apparent  coolness  of  the  moment 
before  forsook  him,  and  he  seemed  burning  with  indig 
nation.  For  the  only  time  in  his  life,  he  made  ready  for 
his  speech  by  removing  his  coat.  He  sprang  upon  his 
opponent  without  ceremony,  and  fairly  out-rivaled  him 
in  the  use  of  invective  and  scorn.  He  told  his  hearers  to 
vote  against  him  if,  after  hearing  his  reply,  they  were  not 
convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  his  votes  on  the  measures 
10 


146  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM. 

discussed.  He  took  these  up  for  consideration  one  at  a 
time,  stating  in  each  case  some  explanatory  fact,  some 
important  consideration,  that  had  been  concealed  or 
omitted.  One  of  the  charges  contained  in  the  hand 
bill  was  unfortunately  stated,  and  as  it  appeared  was  not 
true  in  point  of  fact. 

The  opposition  were  overwhelmed,  and  the  sympathy 
of  the  audience  rapidly  turned  in  the  favor  of  the  speaker. 
As  Mr.  Bradley  had  been  accorded  fair  play,  the  Demo 
crats  were  in  position  to  demand  the  same,  and  Mr. 
Hendricks  proceeded  without  interruption  to  the  end, 
when  his  triumph  was  complete.  To  the  former's  sneers 
regarding  "political  nominations,"  the  latter  replied  that 
he  was  the  unanimous  nominee  of  the  representatives  of 
many  thousands  of  citizens,  while  his  opponent  had  been 
nominated  by  three  individuals — one  a  respectable  drug 
gist,  one  a  citizen  little  known,  and  the  third  "a  gentle 
man  of  leisure  on  the  streets  of  Indianapolis."  When 
the  speaker  made  his  summary  of  arguments  in  the  re 
view  of  each  vote,  he  would  say,  "  Does  any  one  now  dis 
approve  of  my  vote?"  and  not  a  man  made  a  rejoinder. 

"  Bradley  left  the  court  house  a  beaten  man,"  says  a 
narrator  of  this  occurrence.  "Almost  frantic  with  rage 
and  disappointment,  he  mounted  a  store  box  on  the  street, 
and  vainly  tried  to  rally  his  panic-stricken  supporters 
with  an  incoherent  rejoinder.  Undue  space,  perhaps, 
has  been  given  to  this  event  of  the  campaign.  But  it  was 
one  of  signal  triumph  for  Mr.  Hendricks,  and  illustrates 
the  fact  that  his  ablest  efforts  in  public  speaking  were 
generally  those  which  were  extemporaneous  and  wholly 
unprepared." 

The  result  was,  that  the  ordinary  Democratic  majority 
in  the  county  was  nearly  doubled  for  Hendricks,  and  he 
was  returned  to  Congress  by  a  very  decided  majority  in 
his  district. 

It  was  the  year  of  a  national  campaign.     The  Demo- 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — FIRST    TERM.  147 

crats  nominated  gallant  General  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New 
Hampshire,  for  their  standard  bearer.  The  Whigs  chose 
the  venerable  General  Winfield  Scott,  a  hero  of  two  wars. 
Both  parties  adopted  platforms  firmly  upholding  the  Com 
promise  Measures  of  1850,  though  northern  Whigs  made 
it  a  point  to  "support  the  candidate  and  spit  on  the  plat 
form." 

Slaveholders  now  began  to  discuss  quietly  the  advisa 
bility  of  subordinating  everything  else  to  their  special 
interests.  Divided  between  the  two  great  parties,  they 
were  a  small  minority  in  each.  United  as  a  solid  South 
and  attached  to  one,  might  they  not  control  that  one  to 
their  interests?  Led  by  such  considerations,  many  thou 
sands  of  southern  Whigs  joined  the  Democrats  of  the 
South,  the  slave-holders  naturally  preferring  to  secure  to 
their  cause  the  historic  party  of  the  nation,  though  the 
Whigs  had  been  more  subservient  to  their  will,  and 
though  a  Democratic  President  had  grasped  the  sword  to 
demonstrate  that  we  are  a  nation  and  to  put  down  South 
ern  Nullification.  But  the  plan  failed. 

The  slave-holders  never  became  predominant  in  the 
party.  True,  they  came  into  the  Democratic  lines  by 
thousands  in  the  campaign  of  1852  and  later.  But  this 
gulf  stream  met  its  counter  current  from  the  North.  The 
General  who  rode  down  from  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire 
led  a  mighty  army  of  northern  voters.  Martin  Van 
Buren,  who  had  led  the  Free  Soil  Democrats  to  revolt 
against  General  Cass,  four  years  before,  now  returned  to 
his  father's  house  and  sat  down  in  Tammany  Hall.  The 
Whigs  carried  but  four  States.  Their  disaffection  in  the 
North  resulted  chiefly  from  the  approval  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  law  in  the  platform  of  the  party.  Yet  Abraham 
-Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  continued  to  assert,  "The  Whig 
party  is  good  enough  for  me  and  for  you." 

The  reassembling  of  Congress  found  Mr.  Hendricks  in 
his  place.  He  was  a  faithful  committeeman  and  a  close 


148  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS FIRST    TERM. 

observer  of  all  the  measures  presented.  On  the  loth  of 
February,  1853,  he  voted  for  a  bill  to  organize  a  new 
Territory  beyond  Missouri,  to  be  named  Nebraska.  The 
bill  passed  the  House  by  a  large  majority,  but  failed  in 
the  Senate. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — SECOND    TERM. 

The  Thirty-third  Congress  was  organized  on  the  5th 
of  December,  1853.  Linn  Boyd  was  reflected  Speaker, 
and  John  W.  Forney,  Clerk.  Mr.  Hendricks's  colleagues 
were  Smith  Miller,  William  H.  English,  Cyrus  L.  Dun 
ham,  James  H.  Lane,  Samuel  W.  Parker,  John  L. 
Davis,  Daniel  Mace,  Norman  Eddy,  Ebenezer  M.  Cham 
berlain,  and  Andrew  J.  Harlan.  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
appointed  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Invalid  Pen 
sions. 

A  riot  at  Erie,  Pa.,  which  the  local  authorities  seemed 
unable  or  indisposed  to  quell,  obstructed  transportation 
and  travel,  and  excited  the  whole  country.  Strong  reso 
lutions  were  passed  at  a  public  meeting  in  Indianapolis. 
Mr.  Hendricks  presented  these  resolutions  to  the  House 
in  person,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  in  a  short  but 
vigorous  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  remarked  as 
follows : 

"  Sir,  this  is  not  a  matter  of  local  interest  and  concern 
alone.  It  is  not  alone  a  question  between  the  people  of 
Erie  and  the  railroad  companies.  New  York  has  an  in 
terest  in  the  question.  Indiana  and  all  the  West  is  a 
party  to  it.  It  is  now  of  national  importance  and  conse 
quence.  The  fact  that  the  local  authorities  seem  to 
sympathize  with,  if  they  do  not  abet,  this  great  public 
wrong,  gives  it  additional  and  thrilling  interest  and  im 
portance.  If  companies  of  six  and  seven  and  eight 

(149) 


150  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — SECOND    TERM. 

hundred  armed  men  had  invaded  our  borders  and  im 
paired  our  internal  commerce,  stopped  our  mails  and 
hindered  the  free  intercourse  of  our  people,  the  attention 
of  the  nation  would  at  once  have  been  arrested,  and  all 
the  power  of  the  Government  commanded.  Sir,  the  same 
article,  section  and  clause  of  the  Constitution  which 
gives  this  Government  the  power  to  repel  invasions  con 
fers  the  power  and  imposes  the  correlative  obligation  to 
suppress  insurrection.  *  *  I  therefore  move  that 
the  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  at  Indiana 
polis  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs." 

Following  the  official  and  hearty  reception  of  Governor 
Kossuth  was  another  incident  which  was  a  cause  of 
irritation  to  the  Austrian  government.  Martin  Koszta, 
also  a  Hungarian  exile,  came  to  America  to  reside,  and 
was  legally  naturalized.  Afterward  traveling  in  the  East, 
in  1853,  he  was  seized  by  Austrian  officers  and  placed  in 
custody  upon  a  frigate.  Captain  Ingraham,  the  intrepid 
commander  of  an  American  war  vessel  which  was  fortu 
nately  at  hand,  ranged  alongside  the  Austrian  frigate 
with  decks  cleared  for  instant  action,  and  demanded  the 
surrender  of  the  prisoner.  Koszta  was  released,  under 
protest.  The  Austrian  government  made  loud  and  bitter 
complaint  of  this  act,  and  threatened  hostilities.  In 
America  the  course  of  Captain  Ingraham  was  generally 
praised. 

On  January  n,  1854  Mr.  Hendricks  voted  for  a  gold 
medal  and  for  resolutions  of  approbation  to  be  presented 
to  the  spirited  commander  in  appreciation  of  his  brave 
and  timely  act.  Mr.  Hendricks  always  upheld  a  firm 
and  vigorous  foreign  policy.  He  referred  to  this  inci 
dent  in  later  years,  as  an  exemplification  of  the  proper 
course  of  the  Government  in  maintaining  the  rights  of 
American  citizens  abroad. 

On  January  26,  1854  he  reported,  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Invalid  Pensions,  "A  bill  extending  the 


MEMBER   OF    CONGRESS — SECOND    TERM.  151 

provisions  of  the  pension  and  the  bounty-land  laws  now 
in  force,  so  as  to  include  surgeons  who  served  in  the 
Mexican  War  for  a  period  not  less  than  six  months,  under 
contract  with  the  commandants  of  the  regiments ;" 
also,  a  bill  in  relation  to  invalid  pensions ;  also,  the  fol 
lowing  bill,  containing  three  amendments:  "A  bill  to 
amend  the  third  section  of  the  Act  granting  bounty  land 
to  certain  officers  and  soldiers  who  have  been  engaged 
in  the  services  of  the  United  States."  It  amended  by 
giving  bounty  lands  to  those  who  served  less  than  one 
month,  and  by  giving  the  deceased  soldier's  elder  chil 
dren  his  bounty  land  where  he  left  no  widow  or  minor 
heirs.  The  third  amendment  was  merely  verbal. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  through  his  entire  career,  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  was  the  faithful  friend  of  the  soldier,  appreciating 
fully  the  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  our  nation's  de 
fenders,  and  providing,  so  far  as  possible,  for  every  case 
that  might  otherwise  involve  a  hardship  to  the  soldier  or 
his  family.  He  desired  the  last  named  bill  to  be  put  at 
once  upon  its  passage,  and  on  presenting  it  made  a  tell 
ing  speech,  from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken : 

"The  Commissioner  of  Pensions  has  decided  that  a 
certain  class  of  widows  can  not  get  the  bounty  land  which 
was  intended  to  be  given  them  by  the  law  of  1850.  The 
bill  as  introduced  was  intended  to  remove  that  difficulty. 
*  *  It  was  clearly  the  intention  of  the  law  to  give 
lands  to  widows  according  to  services  rendered  by  their 
husbands.  The  Commissioner  construes  that  act  to  mean 
that  the  husband  must  have  died  in  battle,  to  give  the 
widow  a  land  warrant.  When  the  soldier  of  1812  left  his 
home  to  serve  his  country,  his  children  were  left  to  aid 
in  providing  for  his  family.  Their  services  at  home  en 
abled  the  father  to  go  into  the  camp  and  field.  They  are 
now  adults,  and  by  the  law  of  1850  they  can  not  receive 
bounty  land  for  the  services  of  their  deceased  parent. 
Now  I  want  to  remove  this  inequality — this  injustice — at 


152  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

once,  and  I  do  not  want  to  endanger  the  passage  of  so 
just  a  provision  by  sending  it  to  the  Committee  of  the 
Whole  on  the  State  of  the  Union.  *  *  It  extends  the 
law  so  as  to  give  bounty  lands  to  the  adult  children  of 
soldiers  of  the  War  of  1812  in  cases  in  which  those  sol 
diers  have  left  no  widows  or  minor  children  to  take  the 
lands.  The  amendments  go  further,  and  provide  that  if 
a  soldier  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States  and 
served  the  country,  although  it  may  have  been  for  a  less 
period  than  one  month,  he  shall  receive  forty  acres  of 
land.  That,  sir,  is  right.  The  man  who  enlists,  who 
leaves  his  home  and  abandons  his  business,  ought  to  re 
ceive  bounty  land,  even  though  the  service  may  not  have 
been  to  the  extent  of  one  month — the  period  prescribed 
in  the  law  of  1850.  Sickness  may  have  caused  his  dis 
charge  ;  the  war  may  have  closed,  so  that  he  could  not 
longer  serve.  His  home  and  business  have  been  aban 
doned,  and  the  camp  and  field  entered.  He  should  re 
ceive  the  bounty  of  the  Government,  provided  for  the 
soldier." 

On  February  10  he  urged  a  measure  of  indemnity  to- 
his  State  for  the  failure  of  title  to  a  township  of  land 
granted,  on  the  admission  of  Indiana  to  the  Union,  in 
support  of  the  State  University.  His  efforts  r\t>d  those  of 
his  colleague,  Mr.  Dunham,  were  ultimately  successful 
in  this,  although  the  measure  was  combated  in  fhe  House 
at  every  step. 

On  the  third  of  March  he  spoke  upon  the  Homestead 
bill,  as  he  had  in  the  preceding  Congress.  Always 
thoughtfully  guarding  against  exigencies  which  might 
distress  the  settler,  and  seeking  to  provide  for  emergen 
cies,  he  urged  a  plan  whereby,  in  case  of  necessary  re 
moval,  the  homestead-land-holder  might  perfect  his  Utle 
in  a  shorter  period  than  the  term  stated  in  the  law. 

The  first  proviso  of  the  second  section  of  the  Homestead 
Bill  contained  the  following  : 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM.  153 

Provided,  however,  That  no  certificate  shall  be  given 
or  patent  issued  therefor  until  the  expiration  of  five  years 
from  the  date  of  entry. 

Mr.  Hendricks  moved  to  amend  by  adding  the  follow 
ing: 

Provided,  further,  That  at  any  time  after  the  expira 
tion  of  one  year  from  the  date  of  such  entry,  the  person 
who  would  be  entitled  to  a  patent  if  said  term  of  five 
years  were  then  expired,  may  pay  the  United  States 
the  sum  of  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  and  thereupon  shall 
be  entitled  to  a  patent  for  said  land. 

He  then  took  the  floor  and  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  giving  lands  upon  easy  terms  to 
actual  settlers.  But  I  do  not  think  the  plan  proposed  in 
the  bill  is  the  best  that  could  be  adopted.  It  is  not  the 
most  favorable  to  the  settler  or  to  the  Government.  Un 
der  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  the  settler  must  make  his- 
location  and  continue  to  reside  upon  and  cultivate  the 
land  for  five  years  without  a  title,  the  title  in  the  mean 
time  remaining  in  the  Government.  During  these  five 
years  he  is  but  the  tenant  of  the  Government.  Without 
being  the  owner,  he  is  required  to  spend  his  labor  and 
money  in  the  improvement  of  the  land,  and  it  matters  not 
what  changes  in  his  fortune  and  circumstances  may  make 
him  dissatisfied  with  his  location  or  render  it  impossible 
for  him  to  continue  in  it  for  the  five  years,  if  he  abandons 
his  location  he  loses  all ;  the  land  with  the  improvements 
returns  to  the  Government.  During  this  term  of  five 
years  he  has  no  estate  in  the  lands  or  in  the  fields  he 
may  have  cleared  or  in  the  houses  he  may  have  built 
which  he  can  sell  to  another.  He  can  not  labor  with  the 
same  confidence  and  earnestness  as  he  \vould  if  he  had 
the  patent  in  his  pocket.  I  can  not  present  the  objections 
to  any  system  that  would  make  the  people  tenants  of  the 
land  under  the  Government,  with  the  power  and  elegance 


154  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

displayed   by   the   gentleman    from    Pennsylvania  [Mr. 
Dawson],  in  rn's  very  able  speech  in  favor  of  this  bill. 

"  I  will  support  the  bill ;  but  I  feel  that  the  objections  to 
which  I  have  referred  are  weighty,  and  to  obviate  them 
as  far  as  possible  I  offer  the  amendment.  This  amend 
ment  is  based  upon  the  principle  that  the  lands  should  be 
given  by  the  Government  to  the  people,  in  limited  quan 
tities,  for  homes,  at  the  cost  price  ;  and  that  the  title 
should  be  secured  at  once. 
***  *  *  *  *  * 

"  Sir,  the  land  does  not  cost  the  Government  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre,  but  I  propose  that  the  settler  pay  at  that 
rate.  The  quarter  section  will  cost  him  forty  dollars. 
The  amendment  requires  that  he  shall  establish  that  he 
is  a  settler  in  good  faith,  by  a  residence  of  one  year  upon 
the  land.  He  may  then  pay  the  forty  dollars  and  receive 
his  patent  at  once.  He  is  no  longer  a  tenant  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  but  a  free-holder.  He  is  then  secure  in  the 
money  and  labor  expended,  and  will  work  with  a  good 
will. 

"  In  most  cases,  sir,  the  settler,  will  prefer  paying  this 
.small  sum  and  taking  his  title  at  once.  The  Govern 
ment  will  be  reimbursed.  No  wrong  will  be  done  to  any 
section  of  the  Union.  With  this  amendment  this  bill,  in 
my  judgment,  will  be  one  of  the  great  and  beneficent 
measures  of  this  day.  Under  its  provisions  the  men  01 
the  country  who  wish  to  secure  homes  may  make  their 
location,  maintain  it  for  one  year,  pay  to  the  Government 
forty  dollars,  and  become  free-holders.  And  those  who 
can  not  pay  that  amount  may  continue  their  residence 
upon  and  cultivation  of  the  land  for  five  years,  and  have 
homes." 

On  January  31  the  House  again  adopted  a  resolution 
favoring  the  organization  of  a  "  Nebraska  Territory," 
and  by  a  large  majority.  As  before,  it  was  opposed  in 
the  Senate.  Archibald  Dixon,  a  Whig  Senator  from 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM.  155 

Kentucky,  now  demanded  that  the  principle  of  popular 
sovereignty,  as  contained  in  the  Compromise  Measures 
of  1850,  should  be  applied  to  the  n^w  Territory,  and  that 
the  Missouri  restriction  should  be  in  terms  repealed  with 
regard  to  it.  In  this  the  South  joined,  with  invincible 
determination.  To  refuse  to  incorporate  this  provision 
would  necessitate  the  indefinite  postponement  of  all  meas 
ures  for  the  establishment  of  civil  government  beyond  the 
Missouri,  where  life  and  property  were  left  insecure  and 
unprotected  from  depredations  of  savage  Indians  and 
murderous  marauders.  It  would  require  a  two-thirds 
vote  in  the  Senate  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title,  and  this 
could  not  be  secured  while  the  Missouri  restriction  should 
remain. 

The  central  figure  of  the  Senate  at  this  time  was  Stephen 
A..  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  the  leader  of  the  northern 
Democracy  and  the  popular  idol  of  the  West.  He  was 
not  in  doubt  as  to  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  Illinois 
Dn  the  subject  of  popular  sovereignty  in  general.  After 
the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Measures  in  1850,  the 
Legislature  of  his  State  had  repealed  the  Wilmot  Pro 
viso  Instructions  to  Senators,  and  adopted  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  in  the  nature  of  a  standing  instruc 
tion  to  Senators  and  a  request  to  Representatives  of  the 
State  in  Congress : 

Resolved,  That  our  liberty  and  independence  are  based 
Upon  the  right  of  the  people  to  form  for  themselves  such 
a  Government  as  they  may  choose  ;  that  this  great  princi 
ple,  the  birth-right  of  free  men,  the  gift  of  Heaven, 
secured  to  us  by  the  blood  of  our  ancestors,  ought  to  be 
secured  to  future  generations,  and  no  limitation  ought 
to  be  applied  to  this  -power  in  the  organization  of  any  Ter 
ritory  of  the  United  States,  of  either  Territorial  govern 
ment  or  State  Constitution,  provided  the  government  so 
established  shall  be  republican,  and  in  conformity  with 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 


156  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

And  this  had  been  the  almost  unanimous  expression 
of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  having  been  op 
posed  by  only  four  members  in  the  popular  branch  of  the 
Legislature,  and  having  received  the  hearty  support  of 
sixty-one.  A  similar  resolution  was  passed  by  a  similar 
vote  in  the  State  Senate. 

It  is  a  historical  fact  that  the  Compromise  of  1850  had 
nullified  the  Missouri  Compromise  restriction  with  refer 
ence  to  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase — the  only  part 
then  under  consideration.     Had  it  been  the  intention  of 
the  Compromises  of  1850  to  nullify  that  restriction  with 
reference  to  the  whole  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  so  soon 
as  it  should  be  organized?    So  thought  Senator  Douglas, 
though  he  had  preferred  the  extension  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise  Line  to  the  ocean,  as  a  better  means  of  set 
tling  the  contention  on  the  subject  of  slavery  finally  and 
forever.     Since  that  could  not  be,  in  view  of  the  opposi 
tion  of  Northern  men  to  such  extension,  he  acted  upon 
the  plan  of  the  Compromises  of  1850.    He  now  presented 
a  bill  to  organize  two  Territories  to  the  west  of  Missouri 
— Kansas  and  Nebraska,  leaving  the  question  of  freedom 
or  slavery  in  those  Territories  to  be   decided  by  them-, 
selves.     The  bill  declared  "  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  this  act  "  to  be  "  not  to  legislate  slavery  into  any  Ter, 
ritory  or  State,  nor  to  exclude  it  therefrom,  but  to  leave 
the  people  thereof  free  to  form  and  regulate  their  domes 
tic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Con 
stitution    of  the    United    States."     As    chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Territories — a  position  which  he  had  filled 
for  several  years,  and  in  both  Houses  of  Congress — Mr. 
Douglas  reported  the  bill   to  the   Senate  on  the  4th  of 
January,  1854.     ^  was  considered  in  committee  of  the 
whole,  and  made  the  special  order  for  the  next  Monday. 
The   necessity  for  some  form  of  organization   in  the 
region  designated  was  imperative,  and  not  to  be  ignored. 
The  country  was  enjoying  a  comparative  rest  from  the 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS — SECOND    TERM.  157 

angry  turmoil  of  the  past,  and  it  was  deemed  a  patriotic 
duty  to  prevent  the  renewal  of  strife  by  any  honorable 
means.  It  was  hoped  that  this  measure  would  banish 
any  future  controversy  to  a  distant  field,  and  that  the 
dangerous  shock  of  sectional  contention  would  not  again 
be  felt  at  the  capital  of  the  nation.  At  the  same  time,  it 
seemed  manifest  to  men  of  the  North,  at  least,  that  the 
anti-slavery  sentiment  was  in  the  ascendant  in  America, 
and  that  little  was  to  be  feared  from  the  popular  decision 
in  the  new  Territories.  Immigration  from  the  North  was 
active ;  from  the  South  it  was  slow.  Northern  immi 
grants  were  generally  men  of  small  means,  working  men, 
men  of  strong  aversion  to  the  institution  of  slavery.  The 
transportation  of  slaves  by  wealthy  Southrons  to  the  new 
settlements  was  extremely  hazardous  to  the  possession  of 
that  species  of  *'  property."  In  the  outcome,  indeed, 
Kansas  became  free  by  the  operation  of  the  popular  will. 

The  discussion  of  the  measure  was  not  entered  upon  at 
the  designated  day,  but  was  postponed  from  time  to  time. 
On  the  22d  of  January,  which  was  Sunday,  a  handful  of 
Senators  and  Representatives,  constituting  the  extreme 
anti-slavery  party  in  Congress,  assembled  secretly  to 
prepare  an  address  to  the  people,  intending  to  forestall 
the  popular  judgment  upon  the  measure  before  it  should 
be  explained  or  discussed  at  all  in  the  Chamber.  They 
appealed  to  public  meetings,  to  the  Legislatures  of  the 
various  States,  and  especially  to  ministers  of  the  gospel 
in  all  the  churches,  to  interpose  their  influence  in  arrest 
of  the  measure,  which  was  denounced  in  unsparing 
terms.  By  some,  the  appeal  was  signed  in  good  faith. 
Unfortunately  for  the  subsequent  reputation  of  the  docu 
ment,  the  names  of  others  were  appended  without  author- 
ity. 

On  the  following  day,  while  the  address  was  in  press 
in  a  dozen  cities,  Senator  Douglas  called  up  the  bill  for 
discussion.  Senator  Chase,  of  Ohio,  declared  that  there 


153  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

had  not  been  time  to  become  acquainted  with  its  provis 
ions,  and  Senator  Sumner,  of  Massachusetts,  politely  re 
quested  the  postponement  of  the  discussion  for  another 
week.  To  this,  Senator  Douglas  assented.  Ere  another 
week  had  passed,  the  Sunday  circular  had  done  its  ap 
pointed  work.  Denunciation  was  thundered  upon  the 
Senator  and  his  bill  from  ten  thousand  pulpits.  The 
people  were  startled,  it  has  been  aptly  said,  as  by  the 
peal  of  a  fire  bell  at  midnight.  At  innumerable  public 
gatherings  the  author  of  the  measure  was  treated  with 
abuse  and  contempt.  He  remarked  that  he  might  have 
traveled  from  New  York  to  Chicago  by  the  light  of  his 
burning  effigies.  Considered  with  reference  to  its  influ 
ence  on  subsequent  history,  this  manifesto  has  scarcely  a 
recorded  parallel. 

On  Monday,  following,  there  was  a  scene  in  the  Sen 
ate  which  passes  description.  Douglas  stood  facing  his 
accusers,  like  a  lion  at  bay.  His  pent-up  feelings  burst 
all  bounds,  and  broke  upon  the  signers  in  a  pitiless, 
overwhelming  torrent.  Senator  Seward,  of  New  York, 
whose  name  appeared  upon  the  paper,  made  haste  to 
deny  that  he  had  signed  it.  Senator  Chase  professed 
entire  ignorance  as  to  the  way  in  which  various  names 
had  been  appended, *  and  made  a  fruitless  attempt  to 

*  Ten  years  later,  the  mystery  of  the  Sunday  circular  was  solved.  Mr 
Giddmgs  published  in  1864  his  remarkable  History  of  the  Kebellion,  in 
which  (page  366)  maybe  found  the  following  statement  of  the  matter- 
1  Mr.  Edward  Wade,  of  the  House,  was  sitting  in  the  author's  room,  one 
evening,  conversing  upon  the  subject  j>f  Mr.  Douglas's  report/  It  was 
remarked  that  its  result  would  be  defeat  to  the  Democratic  party.  Mr 
Chase,  of  the  Senate,  came  in  and  joined  in  the  conversation.  It  was 
agreed  by  these  members  that  an  address  to  the  people  ought  to  be  pub 
lished.  Mr.  Giddings,  regarding  Mr.  Chase  as  an  accomplished  scholar, 
proposed  that  he  should  pen  the  address.  Mr.  Chase  suggested  that  if 
Mr.  Giddings  would  put  his  thoughts  on  paper,  he,  Mr.  Chase,  would  re 
vise  and  correct  them.  Mr.  Giddings  wrote  out-the  address  and  placed  it 
m  the  hands  of  Mr.  Chase,  who  corrected  and  re-wrote  it.  It  was  then 
submitted  to  Mr.  Smith,  who  also  made  some  verbal  corrections  and  sub- 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

show  that  he  had  intended  no  disrespect  to  the  Senator 
from  Illinois.  As  Douglas  proceeded  to  defend  his  posi 
tion,  his  manner  convinced  the  most  skeptical  that  he 
was  sincere  and  earnest  in  his  professed  belief.  Subse 
quently,  on  the  3d  of  March,  he  spoke  again  with  elo 
quence  and  power  upon  the  measure,  and,  as  before, 
carried  his  hearers  by  storm.  Even  Seward,  against 
whom  he  had  been  severe,  was  moved  to  say,  in  making 
a  suggestion : 

"  I  hope  the  Senator  will  yield  for  a  moment,  because 
I  have  never  had  so  much  respect  for  him  as  I  have  to 
night." 

Aside  from  its  aspersion  of  the  character  and  motives 
of  Senator  Douglas,  the  Sunday  circular  was  unfortunate 
in  its  supposed  statements  of  facts.  Assuming  that  the 
Compromise  Measures  of  1850  did  not  supersede  or  repeal 
the  Missouri  restriction  of  1820  in  any  measure,  it  de 
clared  that  the  territorial  bills  of  the  Compromise  of  1850 
"  applied  to  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  and  to 
that  only.  They  were  intended  as  a  settlement  of  the 
controversy  growing  out  of  that  acquisition,  and  of  that 
controversy  only.  They  must  stand  or  fall  by  their  own 
merits." 

Both  New  Mexico  and  Utah  had  been  formed  in  part 

mitted  it  to  Mr.  Sumner,  who  also  examined  and  corrected  it,  and  the 
paper  went  to  press  precisely  as  Mr.  Sumner  left  it.  It  was  signed 

by  Senators  Chase,  of  Ohio;  Sumner,  of  Massachusetts;  Hall,  of  New 
Hampshire ;  Messrs.  Gerrett  Smith,  of  New  York ;  Hewitt,  of  Massachu 
setts  ;  Giddings  and  Edward  Wade,  of  the  House.  *  *  *  The  names 
of  Senators  Seward,  of  New  York,  and  B.  F.  Wade,  of  Ohio,  were  also  on 
the  paper;  but  those  gentlemen  preferred  not  to  appear  before  the  public 
in  that  way,  and  erased  their  names  before  publication.  Several  members 
of  the  House  who  had  signed  the  paper  followed  the  example  of  the  two  Sen 
ators  and  erased  their  names  before  the  address  appeared  in  public."  The 
erased  names  appeared,  however,  appended  to  the  published  circular.  Mr. 
Giddings  does  not  say  that  these  gentlemen  ever  signed  it,  but  merely 
states  that  their  names  "  were  also  on  the  paper." 


160  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

of  the  land  purchased  from  France  and  known  as  Louis 
iana.  New  Mexico  included,  also,  a  large  tract  which 
the  Government  had  purchased  of  Texas,  and  embraced 
an  extensive  region  lying  north  of  36°  30',  which  had 
been  prospectively  cut  off  from  Texas  in  1845  and  added 
to  the  soil  reserved  to  freedom  by  the  extension  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  line.  Certainly  the  Missouri  restric 
tion  had  been  repealed  in  the  case  of  these  lands  at  least, 
by  the  Compromise  Measures  ot  1850. 

Among  the  offensive  expressions  of  the  circular  men 
tioned  were  the  following : 

"  We  arraign  this  bill  as  a  gross  violation  of  a  sacred 
pledge  ;  as  a  criminal  betrayal  of  precious  rights  ;  as  part 
and  parcel  of  an  atrocious  plot  to  exclude  from  a  vast 
unoccupied  region,  emigrants  from  the  Old  World  and 
free  laborers  from  our  own  States,  and  convert  it  into  a 
dreary  region  of  despotism,  inhabited  by  masters  and 
slaves." 

The  paper  abounded  in  such  expressions  as  "  pre 
tenses,"  "  mere  inventions,  designed  to  cover  up  from 
public  reprehension  meditated  bad  faith,"  "  servile  dem 
agogues,"  etc.,  and  in  a  postscript  Senator  Douglas  was 
personally  mentioned. 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  Senator  Douglas  was 
assailed  for  favoring  a  scheme  to  organize  Territories 
without  prohibiting  slavery  therein.  Doubtless  it  will 
seem  to  the  reader  passing  strange  that  Senator  Seward 
and  his  political  adherents  should  stand  committed  to  the 
same  policy,  a  few  years  later.  Yet  it  is  true  that  when 
the  Republicans  came  into  power  in  both  Houses  of  Con 
gress,  they  passed  bills  organizing  the  Territories  of  Col 
orado,  Nevada  and  Dakota  with  no  prohibition  of  slavery 
whatever.  In  his  recent  work  entitled  "  Twenty  Years 
of  Congress"  (Vol.  I,  pages  270-1),  Mr.  Elaine  speaks 
of  this  "  extraordinary  change  of  position  "  in  the  follow 
ing  terms : 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM.  161 

"  It  will  therefore  always  remain  as  one  of  the  singu 
lar  contradictions  in  the  political  history  of  the  country 
that,  after  seven  years  of  almost  exclusive  agitation  on 
this  one  question,  the  Republicans,  the  first  time  they  had 
the  power  as  a  distinctive  political  organization  to  enforce 
the  cardinal  article  of  their  political  creed,  quietly  and 
unanimously  abandoned  it.  *  *  *  It  was  certainly 
a.  day  of  triumph  for  Mr.  Douglas.  He  was  justified  in 
his  boast  that,  after  all  the  bitter  agitation  which  followed 
the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  the  Republi 
cans  adopted  its  principle  and  practically  applied  its  pro 
visions  in  the  first  Territory  which  they  had  the  power  to 
organize.  *  *  It  was  the  apotheosis  of  Popular  Sover 
eignty,  and  Mr.  Douglas  was  pardonable  for  even  an 
excessive  display  of  self  congratulation  over  an  event  so 
suggestive  and  instructive."  ! ! ! ! 

Mr.  Hendricks's  support  of  the  principle  of  popular 
sovereignty  as  applied  to  the  Territories,  was  qualified. 
The  decision  of  the  slavery  question  by  a  Territory  for 
itself,  he  did  not  hold  to  be  a  guaranteed  constitutional 
right,  to  be  demanded.  Yet  it  seemed  to  offer  the  only 
practical  solution  of  the  problem  in  hand.  However 
strong  the  probability  that  the  principles  of  freedom 
would  triumph  with  the  exercise  of  popular  sovereignty, 
there  were  serious  objections  to  the  measure.  The  bill 
had  awakened  painful  apprehensions  in  the  minds  of 
Northern  people.  It  was  plain  that  the  struggle  on  the 
frontier  would  be  hotly  contested.  Numerous  memorials 
were  received  in  Congress  from  Indiana,  and  from  vari 
ous  parts  of  the  country,  urging  the  defeat  of  the  bill. 
But  having  made  up  his  mind  that  it  was  the  best  that 
could  be  secured,  and  under  the  circumstances  the  only 
means  to  secure  the  imperatively  demanded  establish 
ment  of  civil  government  in  the  far  West,  Mr.  Hendricks 
11 


162  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

was  not  deterred  by  protests  or  by  the  prospect  of  future 
defeat,  but  gave  the  measure  his  support. 

On  the  i6th  of  June,  on  the  consideration  of  the  Pos 
tal  Bill,  he  expressed  himself  as  opposed  to  the  Frank 
ing  Privilege  and  in  favor  of  a  low  rate  of  postage. 

The  campaign  was  opened  ere  Congress  adjourned. 
And  now  the  agitation  in  the  North  grew  day  by  da}'. 
Old  politicians,  lost  to  sight  for  years,  emerged  from  'ob 
scurity  to  join  in  the  chorus  of  denunciation  and  to  be 
once  more  on  the  popular  side.  The  pulpit  continued  to 
declaim  against  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  in  the  terms 
of  the  Sunday  circular.  Edition  after  edition  of  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin  was  exhausted.  Schools  and  theatres  re 
flected  the  general  passion.  As  we  look  over  the  public 
addresses  of  the  time,  we  find  little  intelligent  discussion 
of  the  measure,  but  constant  appeals  to  popular  feeling. 
The  reply  of  Douglas  was  unheard  and  unnoticed  in  the 
general  uproar. 

The  Whig  party  dissolved.  What  was  left  of  it  in  the 
South  went  over  in  platoons  to  the  Democracy.  Had 
not  the  latter  been  possessed  of  an  immense  membership 
in  the  North,  the  pro-slavery  extremists  would  have  suc 
ceeded  in  their  plan  of  gaining  control  of  the  organiza 
tion.  Fortunately,  even  this  great  accession  of  members, 
united  with  the  Democrats  from  motives  of  self-interest, 
could  not  over-balance  the  Democratic  strength  in  the 
North.  The  northern  Whigs  were  in  a  chaotic  condi 
tion.  Old  distinctions  were  dropped  in  some  States,  and 
men  were  divided  with  reference  to  the  new  law. 

Indiana  contained  many  Free  Soilers,  a  considerable 
party  of  Garrisonian  Abolitionists,  some  advocates  of  the 
Know  Nothing  doctrine,  subsequently  more  noted,  and 
many  dissatisfied  Democrats  who  were  ready  to  renounce 
party  fealty.  A  union  of  all  these  heterogeneous  elements, 
and  of  those  who  still  doggedly  called  themselves  Whigs, 
was  effected,  and  a  "fusion"  State  ticket  was  put  into 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM.  163 

the  field.  It  proved  to  be  a  strong  one.  Erasmus  B. 
Collins  was  at  the  head  for  Secretary  of  State,  with  Hiram 
E.  Talbott  for  Auditor,  and  William  B.  Noffsinger  for 
Treasurer;  and  Prof.  Caleb  Mills,  the  noted  "One  of  the 
People,"  ended  the  list  as  candidate  for  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction.  Opposed  to  Mr.  Hendricks  for 
Congress  was  Lucien  Barbour,  a  talented  lawyer  of  In 
dianapolis,  who  had  been  a  Democrat,  and  who  exerted 
himself  to  combine  all  the  opponents  of  Democracy.  As 
for  Mr.  Hendricks  himself,  he  did  not  desire  a  renom- 
ination,  as  he  had  stated  at  the  beginning  of  his  second 
term  ;  but  the  charge  that  he  had  misrepresented  his  con 
stituents  in  voting  for  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  and  the 
challenges  made  to  him  personally  by  the  Opposition  to 
defend  his  course,  led  him  to  accept  the  nomination 
which  his  party  was  eager  to  bestow  upon  him. 

The  Know  Nothing  movement,  which  was  afterward 
to  react  upon  the  movers,  grew  rapidly  in  strength  and 
numbers,  and  Mr.  Barbour  made  his  strongest  appeals 
to  the  spirit  which  it  evoked,  finding  that  the  Democrats 
were  nearly  unanimous  in  support  of  the  Territorial  bill. 

Mr.  Hendricks  met  the  issue  squarely.  In  his  speech 
at  Shelbyville,  in  the  canvass,  he  used  the  following  lan 
guage  : 

"  When  the  Democratic  administration  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  came  in,  liberal  laws  were  enacted,  and  our  young 
Republic  said  to  the  oppressed  millions  of  Europe, 
*  Come,  and  cheap  lands  shall  furnish  you  a  home ; 
come,  and  the  flag  of  the  free  shall  wave  over  and  pro 
tect  you  :  come,  and  just  laws  shall  make  you  free.' 
They  did  come,  and  with  them  came  the  scholar,  the 
artist,  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  laborer;  and 
they  brought  no  trouble  upon  our  fathers,  but  much 
strength,  and  contributed  largely  to  the  development  of 
the  country.  Our  fathers  were  then  only  five  millions 
strong,  but  they  were  not  afraid  for  their  liberties  or  for 


164  MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM. 

their  Protestant  religion  in  the  adoption  of  that  policy. 
Since  that  day  half  a  century  has  gone  by,  and  our  last 
census  shows  us  to  be  a  people  of  twenty-three  millions, 
with  a  native  white  population  of  seventeen  and  three- 
quarters  millions  and  a  population  of  foreign  birth  of  only 
two  and  one-quarter  millions.  Our  foreign  population, 
animated  by  a  common  sentiment  of  admiration  for  our 
institutions,  have  abandoned  the  land  of  their  birth,  and 
with  their  wives  and  children  have  settled  down  among 
us,  making  our  fortunes  their  fortunes,  our  hopes  their 
hopes,  and  our  destiny  their  destiny.  When  have  they 
refused  to  discharge  any  duty  required  by  the  Govern 
ment?  Do  they  not  promptly  pay  their  taxes,  diligently 
labor  upon  the  highways,  faithfully  serve  in  our  armies, 
and  valiantly  fight  in  defense  of  our  country?  It  is  not 
true  that  our  liberties  or  our  religion  are  endangered  by 
the  presence  of  our  foreign  population. 

"  Our  fathers  intended  to  secure  the  liberties  of  the 
citizen,  that  the  church  and  State  should  be  separate, 
and  that  the  church  should  not  control  the  State  nor  the 
State  corrupt  the  church.  No  test  can  be  made  by  law 
whereby  one  class  of  men  shall  be  promoted  to  office  and 
another  class  deprived  of  office  because  of  their  religion. 
The  Constitution  prohibits  it  for  the  reason  that  such  a 
thing  ought  not  to  be  done." 

"  The  wave  of  political  revolution,"  remarks  the  editor 
of  the  Lancaster  Intelligencer,  "rose  beyond  the  high- 
water  mark  of  partisan  folly  in  many  States  ;  and  though 
it  ebbed  more  swiftly  even  than  it  flowed,  the  ugly  marks 
of  its  ascendency  were  visible  for  many  years,  and  the 
debris  which  floated  on  its  crest  is  still  to  be  seen  scat 
tered  here  and  there  in  American  politics." 

Defeat  came  to  the  Democrats  of  Indiana  in  October. 
The  entire  Fusion  State  ticket  was  elected,  and  Mr. 
Barbour  was  chosen  to  the  seat  in  Congress.  This  was 


MEMBER    OF    CONGRESS SECOND    TERM.  165 

Mr.  Hendricks's  first  defeat,  and  he  bore  it  with  becom 
ing  dignity. 

A  single  session  of  Congressional  service  remained. 
His  diligence  was  unabated,  and  he  wound  up  his  labors 
in  the  House  with  careful  and  statesmanly  attention  to 
every  measure.  With  the  magnificent  scheme  of  a 
Pacific  railroad  his  name  is  connected,  for  he  earnestly 
advocated  that  measure  and  promoted  its  interests  in 
many  ways.  On  January  17,  1855  ne  offered  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Pacific  Railway  bill,  to  strike  out  the  pro 
vision  for  the  Southern  Pacific,  expressing  the  hope  that 
some  one  else  would  move  to  strike  out  the  provision  for 
the  Northern  Pacific.  He  regarded  the  construction  of  a 
triple  line  at  once  as  an  undertaking  too  vast  to  be  suc 
cessful,  and  wisely  preferred  to  secure  beyond  question 
the  success  of  a  single  line.  Ere  his  term  had  expired, 
the  surveys  for  the  Central  Pacific  were  ordered,  and  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  enterprise  was 
secured. 


CHAPTER  X. 

COMMISSIONER    OF    THE    GENERAL    LAND    OFFICE. 

*  At  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress,  Mr.  Hendricks 
returned  to  Shelbyville  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  with  little  idea  of  re-entering  the  public  ser 
vice,  at  least  for  years  to  come.  His  wife  busied  herself 
in  setting  their  home  in  order  for  a  permanent  residence. 
Summer  passed,  and  for  the  first  time  in  four  years  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  at  that  season  disengaged  from  the  cares 
attendant  upon  an  approaching  session. 

Lateen  the  season,  one  August  eve,  as  he  sat  in  his 
law  office,  the  postmaster  came  by  and  handed  him  a  let 
ter.  It  was  from  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  was  directed 
in  the  hand-writing  of  the  President.  With  a  puzzled 
expression  on  his  features,  Mr.  Hendricks  broke  the  seal. 
The  envelope  contained  a  commission,  signed  and  sealed, 
appointing  the  ex-Congressman  to  the  office  of  Commis 
sioner  of  the  General  Land  Office— one  of  the  most  im 
portant  trusts  in  the  power  of  the  President  to  bestow. 
It  would  not  be  easy  to  depict  the  surprise  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  at  its  reception.  He  had  not  sought  any  appoint^ 
ment  at  the  hands  of  the  Executive.  The  position  was 
one  which  Abraham  Lincoln  had  sought  in  vain  of  Pres 
ident  Taylor,  to  whom  he  had  rendered  great  service, 
laboring  successfully  to  aid  in  securing  the  nomination 
and  election  of  that  hero.  Even  the  services  of  Lin 
coln  to  the  Whigs,  and  especially  to  Taylor,  in  1848,  and 
the  entreaties  of  his  friends,  had  failed  to  s'ecure  for  him 

(166) 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.        167 

the  coveted  appointment  which  now  came  unasked  to 
Mr.  Hendricks. 

The  latter  did  not  at  once  accept.  He  wished  first  to 
learn  the  situation  at  Washington  and  the  reason  of  his 
appointment ;  for  he  surmised  that  it  was  a  compromise 
effected  between  rival  claimants,  and  that  it  might  be 
only  at  a  personal  risk  that  he  could  receive  it.  Mrs. 
Hendricks  joined  in  his  solicitude.  After  some  discus 
sion,  it  was  agreed  that  the  appointee  should  repair  to 
Washington  at  once  and  investigate,  leaving  his  wife  to 
follow  at  her  leisure  in  case  of  a  final  acceptance  of  the 
commission.  Mrs.  Hendricks  bravely  undertook  to  ar 
range  the  contingent  settlement  of  affairs  at  home  in  the 
event  of  a  removal  to  Washington.  Arrived  at  the  cap 
ital,  Mr.  Hendricks  was  not  long  left  in  doubt.  The 
frank  soldier-President  assured  him  that  the  appointment 
was  made  on  his  own  motion  and  for  merit,  and  was  not 
the  result  of  a  bargain  or  compromise.  It  was  accord 
ingly  accepted. 

Probably  the  appropriateness  of  this  appointment  had 
been  suggested  to  the  mind  of  the  President  by  the  thor 
ough  mastery  of  the  subject  of  the  public  domain,  evinced 
in  the  speeches  of  Congressman  Hendricks,  and  the 
special  interest  which  the  latter  had  taken  in  all  congres 
sional  matters  relating  thereto.  It  is  not  difficult  to  ac 
count  for  this  interest.  In  boyhood  Mr.  Hendricks  had 
witnessed  and  participated  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  new 
community,  and  as  the  son  of  a  Government  surveyor, 
had  enjoyed  a  special  insight  of  the  workings  of  the  pub 
lic  land  system. 

The  office  of  Commissioner  was  as  old.  as  the  Govern 
ment  itself.  Until  1849  lt  na(*  f°rmed  a  Bureau  of  the 
Treasury  Department.  At  that  date  the  Department  of 
the  Interior  was  constituted,  with  the  Land  Office  as  a 
chief  division.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  at  this  time 
was  Robert  McClelland,  of  Michigan,  successor  of  the 


168       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

Whig  Secretary  Alexander  H.  H.  Stuart,  of  Virginia. 
The  Department  occupied  the  central  (free-stone)  por 
tion  of  the  present  magnificent  building,  and  the  great 
marble  wings  were  in  process  of  erection  at  the  time. 
The  General  Land  Office  was  almost  a  Department  of 
itself,  and  its  Commissioner  was  scarcely  second  in  rank 
and  influence  to  a  Cabinet  minister.  It  would  be  diffi 
cult  to  conceive  of  a  happier  opportunit}^  offered  to  an  en 
thusiastic  and  patriotic  man  ;  and  with  memories  of  the 
hickory  broom  in  his  miad,  Commissioner  Hendricks 
turned  to  his  new  duties,  which  were  to  receive  his  atten 
tion  and  care  for  nearly  four  years. 

Under  preceding  administrations  the  work  had  fallen 
far  behind,  and  it  was  now  nearly  four  years  in  arrears. 
There  was  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  clerks— a 
number  sufficient,  with  proper  interest  and  industry,  to 
perform  the  current  work  of  the  office.     Yet  that  work 
was  of  astonishing  magnitude.     The  number  of  patents 
issued  and  of  records  made,  seemed  almost  incalculable. 
Government  surveys  were  progressing  far  beyond  the 
confines  of  civilization.     In  the  vast  plains  beyond  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  and  through  the  valleys  of 
California,  in  the  regions  bordering  on  British  America 
and  on  the  plateaus  bordering  the  Rio  Grande,  the  theo 
dolite  and  the  chain,  directed  by  the  Land  office,  were 
running  the  lines   for  future  settlements.     Perhaps  the 
most  difficult  part  of  the  work  was  the  adjustment  of  rival 
claims  to  lands ;  yet  for  this  the  new  Commissioner  was 
admirably  qualified  and  prepared.     Mr.  Hendricks  real 
ized  how  vexatious  must  be  to  contestants  the  delay  of 
decisions  and  to  purchasers  the  withholding  of  patents. 
He  determined  to  institute  a  reform.     It  required  a  degree 
of  personal  application  and  a  strength  of  will  which  his 
predecessors  had  not  shown,  to  bring  it  about ;  but  it  was 
accomplished.     A  secret  of  the  Commissioner's  success 
in    the   office   was  his    personal    acquaintance    with   the 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       169 

clerks.  There  was  none  that  he  did  not  know  and  esti 
mate  by  his  own  judgment  as  to  qualifications.  Where 
efficiency  and  zeal  were  shown,  coupled  with  good  char 
acter,  there  was  no  need  to  fear  removal  through  pressure 
of  the  "spoils  system."  Where  clerks  were  idle,  care 
less,  dissipated  or  untrustworthy,  they  were  quietly  but 
determinedly  told  that  they  must  give  place  to  new  men. 
The  work  of  each  clerk  was  by  a  single  general  order 
increased  twenty-five  per  cent.,  in  order  that  the  accumu 
lation  of  delinquent  work  of  the  office  might  be  reduced. 
Eventually,  all  the  work  was  brought  up  until  the  office 
was  but  four  months  behind  in  its  delivery  of  deeds  and 
its  return  of  decisions — and  this  was  as  small  a  delay  as 
was  deemed  wise,  for  various  reasons.  No  such  reform 
of  an  office  of  such  importance  had  ever  been  witnessed 
in  the  Government. 

Nearly  400,000  land  patents  were  issued  by  Commis 
sioner  Hendricks,  and  20,000  contested  land  cases  were 
decided.  Many  of  the  legal  contests  over  the  lands  were 
of  great  importance,  measured  by  the  values  involved. 
Rarely  have  any  of  his  decisions  been  reversed  by  the 
courts.  Once  he  wras  approached  by  a  man  of  influence 
who  offered  him  a  bribe.  Many  an  old-time  clerk  laughs 
to  this  day  as  he  recalls  the  vigorous  treatment  the 
would-be  briber  received.  The  offense  was  not  repeated. 

One  of  the  Commissioner's  decisions  gave  great  offense 
to  a  prominent  Missourian,  who  never  afterward  con 
cealed  a  feeling  of  hostility  toward  that  officer.  In  the 
last  year  of  his  life  the  Vice-President  secured  for  the 
son  of  the  Missouri  contestant  a  situation  under  the 
Government,  a  fact  which  shows  that  resentment  had  no 
place  in  his  heart.  The  Commissioner's  relations  with 
President  Pierce  were  of  the  most  agreeable  nature.  The 
latter  was  in  no  wise  dictatorial,  but  generous  and  in 
genuous  in  character  and  liberal  in  views.  All  men  had 
access  to  him.  None  were  deceived  bv  him. 


170      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

While  Mr.  Hendricks  was  in  the  General  Land  Office, 
a  new  national  party  was   organized.     Its  history  com 
menced  with  the  era  of  political  preaching,  in  1854.    The 
secularization  of  the  pulpit  in  America  was  phenomenal 
and  lamentable.     No  other  class   of  men   possessed   so 
great  a  measure  of  influence  with  the  American  people 
as  the  Christian  ministers.     This  was  due  not  only  to  the 
high  character  of  their   calling,  but  also  to  the  fervency 
of  their  zeal,  their  uncomplaining  self-sacrifice,  and  their 
pure  and  upright  lives,  rather  than  to  the  breadth  of  view 
in  civil   matters   or  to  the   political  wisdom  which,  as  a 
class,  they  might  be  deemed  to  possess.     But  from  what 
ever  sources   derived,  the  power  of  the  Northern  pulpit 
was  generally  enlisted  by  the  Sunday  circular,  and  used 
with  great  effect  to   oppose  the  measures    of  Douglas. 
Three  thousand  and  fifty  ministers  of  New  England  were 
induced  to  sign  a  protest  against  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill.     To  the  Senator  this  was  in  the  nature  of  a  painful 
surprise.     Toiling  as  he  was,  in  the  most  difficult  of  all 
positions,  to  secure  the  best  interests  of  the  Republic,  he 
had  expected  the  good  people  of  the  North  to  hold  up 
his  hands  ;  at  least  he  had  a  right  to  expect  that  his  mo 
tives  would  be  appreciated,  even   though   his  measures 
were  not  sustained.     Himself  a  devout  church  member, 
it  was  to  him  incomprehensible  that  a  political  manifesto, 
penned    on  the   Sabbath,  containing  palpable  mis-state 
ments,  and  signed  by  men  of  more  than  heterodox  belief 
and  morals,  could  have  influenced  the  ministry  to  such  a 
degree.     He  declared  at  the  time  that  the  protest  con 
tained  mis-statements,   and  that  the  ministers  were  do 
ing  themselves  injustice  by  signing  it.     The  pulpit  an 
swered  by  sending  to  the   Senate  a  second  protest  from 
five  hundred  ministers  of  Illinois. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  popular  excitement  that  the 
submerged  politicians  of  other  days  came  forth  from 
unkindly  obscurity  to  ride  upon  a  popular  wave,  in  1854- 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       171' 

The  "Fusion"  of  that  year  became  a  perpetual  union  of 
all  the  parties  concerned  except  the  Know  Nothings,  who 
conducted  the  next  campaign  independently ;  and  they 
also  returned  subsequently  to  the  "  Fusion,"  later  known 
as  the  Republican  party.  The  most  incongruous  con 
stituents  united  against  Douglas.  "  Of  strange,  discord 
ant,  often  hostile  elements,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "we 
gathered  from  the  four  winds."  The  first  National  Re 
publican  Convention  assembled  in  Philadelphia  in  June,. 
1856.  Henry  S.  Lane,  of  Indiana,  an  orator  of  surpass 
ing  eloquence,  presided.  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  the 
"Pathfinder,"  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  his 
charming  and  brilliant  wife — Jessie  Benton.  of  historic 
name,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  H.  Benton — being 
a  scarely  less  important  factor  in  the  canvass  than  the 
nominee  himself.  All  practical  questions  relating  to 
slavery  were  waived,  excepting  the  one  question  of 
slavery  in  the  Territories — the  very  one  which  they  dis 
regarded,  as  Mr.  Blaine  shows,  the  moment  they  came 
into  power.  The  old  congressional  restriction  was 
demanded.  And  upon  this  platform  the  conservative 
Whig  stood  with  the  dissatisfied  Democrat,  the  Christian 
minister  with  the  free-thinker,  Greeley's  "  long-haired, 
raving  Abolitionist"  with  the  defender  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  law,  the  strong  Union  man  with  the  advocate  of 
separation  from  the  South.  "  Free  soil,  a  free  press,  free 
speech  and  free  men,"  was  the  rallying  cry  of  the  new 
party.  They  made  the  most  of  the  word  free,  employ 
ing  it  in  endless  reiteration.  Its  force  as  a  catch-word 
was  somewhat  broken  by  the  retort  of  their  opponents 
characterizing  them  as  "Free  Soilers,  Free-thinkers, 
Free-lovers  and  Fremonters  " — a  phrase  which  reminded 
them  that  the  word  free  is  subject  to  abuse  exactly  as 
other  words  are. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1856  met  in. 


172       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

Cincinnati,  and  adopted  the  following  platform  on  the 
slavery  question  : 

"The  American  Democracy  recognize  and  adopt  the 
principles  contained  in  the  organic  law  establishing 
the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as  embodying 
the  only  sound  and  safe  solution  of  the  slavery  question 
upon  which  the  great  national  idea  of  the  people  of  this 
whole  country  can  repose  in  its  determined  conservatism 
of  the  Union — non-interference  by  Congress  with  slavery 
in  State  and  Territory  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia ; 

"  That  this  was  the  basis  of  the  Compromises  of  1850, 
confirmed  by  both  the  Democratic  and  Whig  parties  in 
National  Conventions — ratified  by  the  people  in  the  elec 
tion  of  1852 — and  rightly  applied  to  the  organization  of 
the  Territories  in  1854  '•> 

"That  by  the  uniform  application  of  this  Democratic 
principle  to  the  organization  of  Territories  and  to  the 
admission  of  new  States  with  or  without  domestic  slavery 
as  they  may  elect,  the  equal  rights  of  all  will  be  preserved 
intact — the  original  compacts  of  the  Constitution  will  re 
main  inviolate — and  the  perpetuity  and  expansion  of  this 
Union  insured  to  its  utmost  capacity  of  embracing  in 
peace  and  harmony  any  future  American  State  that  may 
be  constituted  or  annexed  with  a  republican  form  of  gov 
ernment." 

Four  years  before,  Douglas  had  been  urged  for  the 
nomination,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine.  He  was  still  deemed 
too  young  to  receive  so  high  an  honor.  The  choice  fell 
upon  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  man  of  note 
through  a  number  of  administrations,  having  served  as 
Congressman,  Senator,  Secretary  of  State, and  Embassa- 
dor  to  the  court  of  St.  James.  Irreproachable  in  his 
private  life,  he  was  yet  cold,  repellant  and  dictatorial  in 
manner,  and  singularly  lacking  in  frankness  and  direct 
ness.  He  had  been  hated  and  despised  by  both  Jefferson 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       173 

and  Jackson.  His  boast  in  early  life  was  that  he  had  not 
a  drop  of  Democratic  blood  in  his  veins,  and  his  early 
associations  were  with  the  Federalists.  All  this  was  not 
remembered  against  him,  for  he  had  been  apparently 
faithful  to  the  party  and  to  principle  for  many  years  ;  and 
though  he  had  never  exhibited  any  executive  ability, 
much  was  hoped  from  his  wealth  of  experience  in  public 
life. 

Millard  Fillmore  also  took  the  field,  as  the  American,  or 
"  Know  Nothing,"  candidate.  The  name  by  which  his 
party  was  popularly  known  was  not  intended  to  indicate 
any  want  of  intelligence  on  the  part  of  its  members. 
They  were  so  called  on  account  of  their  secresy,  which 
frequently  led  them  to  disavow  to  outsiders  all  knowl 
edge  of  the  organization.  The  intemperate  utterances 
and  threats  of  the  extremist  wing  of  the  Republican 
party  were  goading  the  South  to  desperation.  The 
secresy  and  fanaticism  of  the  Know  Nothings  were 
equally  abhorent  to  Democrats,  who  deemed  their  party 
the  stay  and  hope  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Hendricks  visited  Indiana  to  contribute  his  aid  to 
the  canvass,  and  dealt  telling  blows  against  both  parties 
of  opposition.  He  was  now  recognized  as  one  of  the 
ablest  leaders  in  the  State.  Indiana  again  took  her  place 
in  the  Democratic  column,  the  party  electing  its  State 
ticket  by  a  fair  majority  and  casting  its  electoral  vote  for 
the  nominees  of  the  Cincinnati  Convention.  It  was  a 
day  of  young  men  in  the  Hoosier  State.  The  eloquent 
Ashbel  P.  Willard  was  chosen  for  Governor,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-six,  and  John  C.Walker  had  received  the  nomin 
ation  for  Lieutenant-Governor  at  twenty-eight — less  than 
the  required  age. 

No  one  of  the  Presidential  candidates  received  a  ma 
jority  of  the  popular  vote.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected  ; 
and  though  he  received  the  votes  of  but  four  Northern 
States,  two-thirds  of  his  popular  support  came  from  the 


174      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

North.  The  new  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  Jacob 
Thompson,  of  Mississippi,  who  took  early  occasion  to 
assure  the  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  that  he  was 
not  to  be  superseded.  The  latter  accepted  the  reap- 
pointment,  being  deeply  interested  in  working  out  the 
reforms  which  have  been  described,  and  arranged  for 
a  long  stay  at  the  capital. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  occupied  suites  of  rooms  at 
one  or  another  of  the  leading  hotels  of  the  city,  as  they 
had  during  the  terms  of  his  Congressional  service,  and 
pursued  the  same  unostentatious  manner  of  life  as  before. 
Their  parlors  were  always  open,  and  were  a  favorite  re 
treat  of  the  most  distinguished  members  of  Washington 
society.  Senator  Douglas  was  a  frequent  guest  and  a 
most  genial  companion  of  the  Commissioner,  and  many 
family  reminiscences  are  preserved  of  that  remarkable 
leader  in  his  hours  of  social  enjoyment  and  unbending 
from  his  cares  of  statesmanship. 

Mr.  Hendricks  had  the  welfare  of  his  clerks  at  heart  to 
a  greater  degree  than  is  often  witnessed.  Employment 
in  the  civil  service  was  notably  precarious  ;  and  while  it 
frequently  offered  young  men  an  opportune  assistance  to 
prepare  for  professional  life,  it  was  to  be  considered  a 
means  rather  than  an  end  ;  it  could  hardly  be  called  a 
permanent  vocation.  Encouraging  those  of  his  clerks 
who  were  professionally  inclined,  to  pursue  studies  in 
law,  he  himself  organized  a  law  school  at  the  Depart 
ment,  and  conducted  it  in  the  evenings.  It  was  a  thor 
ough  success.  Many  of  its  members  have  attained  to 
eminent  rank  in  the  profession,  and  all  received  incal 
culable  benefit  from  the  Commissioner's  disinterested 
labors.  At  one  time  they  forced  him  to  accept  a  silver 
purse  of  gold  coins,  much  against  his  will,  as  he  rejected 
all  offers  of  compensation.  During  much  ot  his  life  in 
the  Land  Office,  Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  sufferer  from  ma 
larial  fever  and  some  other  disorders.  For  two  or  three 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       175 

years,  at  least,  he  was  confined  to  his  room  for  weeks  at 
a  time. 

The  relations  between  Mr.  Hendricks  and  the  Presi 
dent  were  not  of  the  most  agreeable  character.  The 
latter  arranged  for  several  changes  in  the  Land  Office, 
desiring  the  resignations  of  efficient  clerks  to  make  room 
for  new  appointees.  The  Commissioner  would  not  tol 
erate  any  interference  with  the  office,  claiming  that  it  is 
a  sound  rule  of  civil  service  that  the  chief  of  each  bureau 
be  made  fully  responsible  for  the  work  under  his  charge, 
and  that  offices  of  the  Government  should  be  conducted 
on  business  principles.  When  the  President  was  dis 
posed  to  be  firm,  Mr.  Hendricks  stated  that  if  resigna 
tions  were  wanted,  his  own  must  be  among  the  number. 
Unlike  his  successor,  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  used  to  complain 
comically  and  in  perfect  good  humor  that  he  had  no  in 
fluence  with  his  Administration,  Mr.  Buchanan  was 
deeply  chagrined  at  his  failure  to  control  the  "  patronage" 
of  the  Land  Office.  Yet  for  various  reasons  he  did  not 
feel  disposed  to  accept  the  resignation  of  the  Commis 
sioner. 

The  Administration  of  President  Buchanan  was  not 
successful.  It  was  as  complete  a  failure  as  that  of  Presi 
dent  Tyler,  and  exerted  a  like  influence  upon  the  fortunes 
of  the  party  which  called  it  into  existence.  While  Mr. 
Hendricks,  as  Land  Commissioner,  was  solving  his  own 
problems,  and  was  not  involved  in  the  President's  errors, 
a  review  of  the  unfortunate  Imbroglio  is  necessary  to  an 
understanding  of  his  subsequent  course. 

The  campaign  of  1856  was  fairly  won  upon  the  prin 
ciple  of  popular  sovereignty.  If  any  one  was  deceived, 
as  has  been  freely  alleged,  it  would  seem  that  he  had 
himself  to  blame.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  the  right 
of  the  people  of  a  Territory  to  decide  for  themselves  the 
question  of  slavery  or  freedom  could  have  been  more 
clearly  stated  than  it  was,  in  both  the  North  and  the 


176       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

South.     Buchanan  said  in  his  letter  accepting  the  nomi 
nation  for  President : 

"  This  legislation  is  founded  upon  principles  as  ancient 
as  free  government  itself,  and  in  accordance  with  them 
has  simply  declared  that  the  people  of  a  Territory,  like 
those  of  a  State,  shall  decide  for  themselves  whether 
slavery  shall  or  shall  not  exist  within  their  limits." 

The  Vice-Presidential  candidate,  Mr.  Breckenridge, 
said  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  June  pth,  replying  to  the  con 
gratulations  of  his  neighbors  and  friends  : 

"  The  whole  power  of  the  Democratic  organization  is 
pledged  to  the  following  propositions :  That  Congress 
shall  not  interpose  upon  this  subject  (slavery)  in  the 
States,  in  the  Territories,  or  in  the  District  of  Columbia  ; 
that  the  people  of  each  Territory  shall  determine  the 
question  for  themselves,  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union 
upon  a  footing  of  perfect  equality  with  the  original  States, 
without  discrimination  on  account  of  the  allowance  or 
prohibition  of  slavery." 

From  the  inauguration,  the  Admistration  was  commit 
ted  to  the  doctrine  that  the  people  of  a  Territory  had  no 
such  power,  and  that  even  Congress  had  no  right  to  con 
fer  such  power  upon  them  ;  that  it  was  only  when  form 
ing  a  State  Constitution  that  the  people  might  decide  the 
question  of  freedom  or  slavery  ;  that  during  the  whole 
period  of  Territorial  existence,  to  its  very  close,  masters 
could  not  be  prevented  from  taking  their  slaves  to  any 
Territory  and  holding  them  there  in  servitude.  Thus 
was  the  very  principle  on  which  the  election  was  carried 
"  kicked  to  the  winds,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  it,  as 
soon  as  it  had  accomplished  the  purpose  of  the  candidates. 

The  occasion  for  this  great  and  lamentable  change  is 
to  be  found  in  a  most  notable  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  Missouri  Compromise  had  never  been  very 
rigidly  observed.  Six  counties  had  been  added  to  the 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       177 

Slave  State  of  Missouri,  in  1837,  fr°m  tne  land  declared 
to  be  "  forever  free  ",  and  filled  with  slaves.  In  all  the 
period  from  1820,  army  officers,  Indians,  missionaries 
and  others  had  occasionally  held  slaves.  One  of  these, 
named  Dred  Scott,  had  been  held  in  servitude  at  Ft. 
Snelling  (Minnesota),  then  taken  to  the  free  State  of 
Illinois,  and  finally  carried  by  force  to  Missouri  and  sold. 
In  Missouri  he  came  to  the  ownership  of  Rev.  Dr. 
ChafFee,  of  Massachusetts,  a  Republican  member  of 
Congress.  He  had  sued  for  his  freedom  in  St.  Louis, 
while  held  by  a  Mr.  Sandford,  and  the  State  Court  de 
clared  him  free.  The  cause  was  carried  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  ;  it  was  still  pending  when  the 
election  of  1856  occurred.  Few  causes  in  the  history  of 
American  jurisprudence  have  had  so  many  and  peculiar 
features  of  interest. 

Personally,  the  suit  mattered  nothing  now  to  .Scott,  for 
his  freedom  had  been  already  determined  upon  by  Dr. 
ChafFee.  The  object  in  prosecuting  it  was  to  establish  a 
principle.  The  prosecution  and  the  defense  were  in  the 
same  hands.  The  "poor  Dred  Scott"  whose  noble 
stand  for  liberty  aroused  the  sympathies  of  millions,  and 
whose  supposed  despairing  return  to  life-long  bondage 
drew  tears  from  the  eyes  and  wrung  the  hearts  of  the 
sympathetic  throughout  the  North,  was  not,  like  good 
"  Uncle  Tom,"  a  moral  hero,  but  if  report  be  true,  a 
dissipated  man  who  was  little  alive  to  the  tremendous  in 
terests  involved  in  his  suit.  Divested  of  its  reference  to 
the  man  Dred  Scott,  and  considered  as  involving  the 
rights  of  men  to  liberty,  the  cause  of  Dred  Scott  was  one 
in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  breathless  interest  with 
which  its  decision  was  awaited. 

Upon  that  decision  volumes  have  been  written,  and 
reviews  without  end  have  been  made.  The  Court  decided 
that  it  had  no  jurisdiction  in  the  case,  since  Scott  was 
12 


178       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

not  a  citizen,  as  the  descendants  of  Negro  slaves  could 
not  become  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Doctors  of  law 
tell  us  that  this  was  all  that  -was  decided  in  the  case. 
However,  the  Court  gave  its  opinion  upon  other  points. 
In  some  of  these  the  Chief  Justice  was  well  sustained  ;  in 
others  he  was  not,  and  the  conflicting  opinions  of  the 
Justices  involve  the  case  in  almost  inextricable  confusion. 
But  it  was  held  by  a  majority  of  the  Court  that  slaves 
were  property ;  that  the  Missouri  restriction  had  been 
illegal  through  all  the  years  of  its  existence,  since  it  was 
an  interference  by  Congress  with  the  rights  of  citizens 
migrating  with  their  slaves. 

George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  himself  a  Democrat, 
briefly  but  severely  reviewed  this  decision,  not  in  its 
exact  terms,  but  in  its  effect  as  he  understood  it,  in  his 
memorial  address  on  President  Lincoln,  February  12, 
1866.  In  a  manner  characterized  by  peculiar  earnest 
ness  and  solemnity,  he  said  as  follows : 

"  The  South  *  •*  knew  that  a  fair  competition  fore 
boded  its  defeat.  But  where  could  it  now  find  an  ally  to 
save  it  from  its  own  mistake?  What  I  have  next  to  say 
is  spoken  with  no  emotion  but  regret.  Our  meeting  to 
day  is,  as  it  were,  at  the  grave,  in  the  presence  of 
eternity,  and  the  truth  must  be  uttered  in  soberness  and 
sincerity. 

"  In  a  great  republic,  as  was  observed  more  than  two 
thousand  years  ago,  any  attempt  to  overturn  the  State 
owes  it  strength  to  aid  from  some  branch  of  the  Govern 
ment.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  without 
any  necessity  or  occasion,  volunteered  to  come  to  the 
rescue  of  the  theory  of  slavery,  and  from  his  court  there 
lay  no  appeal  but  to  the  bar  of  humanity  and  history. 
Against  the  Constitution,  against  the  memory  of  the 
nation,  against  a  previous  decision,  against  a  series  of 
enactments,  he  decided  that  the  slave  is  property ;  that 
slave  property  is  entitled  to  no  less  protection  than  any 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.        179 

other  property ;  that  the  Constitution  upholds  it  in  every 
Territory  against  any  act  of  a  local  Legislature,  and  even 
against  Congress  itself;  or,  as  the  President  for  that  term 
[Buchanan]  tersely  promulgated  the  saying,  '  Kansas  is 
as  much  a  slave  State  as  South  Carolina  or  Georgia  ; 
slavery,  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution,  exists  in  every  Terri 
tory.'  *  *  Moreover  the  Chief  Justice,  in  his  elabo 
rate  opinion,  announced  what  had  never  been  heard  from 
any  magistrate  of  Greece  or  Rome  ;  what  was  unknown  to 
civil  law  and  canon  law,  and  feudal  law,  and  common 
law ;  unknown  to  Jay,  to  Rutledge,  Ellsworth  and  Mar 
shall — that  there  are  'slave  races.' ' 

The  decision  was  made.  What  next?  There  were 
three  courses  that  might  be  pursued.  The  President, 
Congress  and  the  people  might  receive  the  decision  in 
its  extreme  pro-slavery  interpretation  as  a  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,"  an  end  of  all  controversy.  They  might  act 
upon  it  publicly  and  privately,  and  conform  their  views 
of  moral  and  political  obligation  to  it.  This  was  the 
course  favored  and  acted  upon  by  President  Buchanan. 

Again,  even  if  the  extreme  southern  interpretation  of 
the  decision  were  held  to  be  the  correct  one,  a  wronged 
nation  might  find  refuge  in  the  doctrine  of  President 
Jackson,  as  expressed  in  his  message  accompanying  his 
veto  of  the  Bank  bill.  Jackson  held  that  neither  the 
President  nor  Congress  could  be  coerced  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  since  they  were  co-ordinate  branches  of  the  Gov 
ernment  ;  and  that  those  who  took  the  oath  to  support 
the  Constitution  were  bound  to  support  it  as  they  under 
stood  it.  Acting  upon  this  view,  citizens  might  continue 
to  vote  against  slavery  in  the  Territories,  Congress  or  the 
Territorial  Legislatures  to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  Terri 
tories,  and  the  President  to  sustain  such  legislation,  in 
spite  of  the  dictum  of  the  Court.  This  was  the  course 
advocated  by  Abraham  Lincoln. 

A  third  course  was  to  reject  the  interpretation  of  ex- 


180      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

tremists,  and  to  reconcile  practically  the  Dred  Scott  decis 
ion  with  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty.  This  was 
the  course  of  Douglas.  The  Court  had  decided  that 
slaves  were  unqualified  property,  and  on  the  same  foot 
ing,  constitutionally,  with  other  property.  But  Douglas 
claimed  for  the  Territories  the  right  to  legislate  concerning 
-property.  Liquors  are  property.  Gambling  stock  is 
property.  Admit,  for  argument's  sake,  that  slaves  are 
property.  The  Territorial  Legislature  has  the  power  to 
prohibit  the  use  of  such  property.  It  may  not  prevent 
owners  from  holding  such  property  in  transitu,  but  it  can 
prevent  the  use  of  it  in  any  profitable  way,  and  refuse  the 
measures  of  special  fostering  and  protection  without 
which  slavery,  at  least,  can  not  exist  for  a  day.  It  may 
enact  hostile  legislation,  which  will  actually  and  positively 
exclude  slavery,  leaving  only  the  useless  right  of  transit 
to  the  property  in  question.  So  argued  the  Illinois  Sen 
ator.  Regarding  the  error  of  the  Supreme  Court  as  one 
of  theory,  which  could  work  little  or  no  practical  harm, 
and  deeming  the  public  vituperation  of  that  tribunal  a 
harmful  and  useless  course,  he  refused  to  argue  the  case 
before  the  people — "to  appeal  from  the  Supreme  Court 
to  a  town  meeting,"  as  he  expressed  it.  But  he  never 
wavered  an  iota  in  his  allegiance  to  popular  sovereignty. 
It  is  a  little  singular  that  there  were  three  equally  dis 
tinct  and  separate  views  as  to  the  origin  and  extent  of 
Federal  power  in  the  Territories.  The  Constitution  con 
tains  the  following  provision  (Art.  IV.,  Sec.  3):  "The 
Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory  or 
other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States."  The 
advocates  of  congressional  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the 
Territories,  referred  with  all  confidence  to  this  clause,  as 
giving  to  Congress  supreme  power  in  the  premises.  Judge 
Taney  and  the  Court  set  forth  the  astounding  theory  that 
this  clause  applied  only  to  the  territory  owned  by  the 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       181 

United  States  at  the  time  when  the  Constitution  was 
adopted,  and  had  no  force  whatever  relative  to  the  Lou 
isiana  Purchase  or  to  any  other  territory  subsequently 
acquired.  Judge  Douglas  held  that  the  clause  did  apply 
to  all  the  Territories  of  the  Union,  but  conferred  upon 
Congress  powers  relating  only  to  territory  as  public  prop 
erty,  before  it  was  sold  to  individuals — not  to  persons  and 
communities  ;  that  Congress  could  establish  local  gov 
ernments  and  invest  them  with  powers  which  Congress 
itself  could  not  constitutionally  exercise ;  that  Congress 
had  no  right  to  interfere  with  the  internal  policy  of  the 
people  who  might  reside  upon  lands  which  the  Federal 
Government  had  sold  to  them ;  that  the  exclusion  of 
slavery  from  the  Territories  was  not  one  of  the  powers 
conferred  upon  Congress. 

The  Territorial  elections  in  Kansas  had  been  carried 
by  the  pro -si  a  very  faction,  through  a  system  of  organized 
violence  and  fraud.  Conflicting  reports  from  the  scene 
of  outrage,  and  evidence  of  lawlessness  on  the  part  of 
both  the  warring  factions  in  that  remote  region,  had  ren 
dered  the  situation  for  a  long  time  doubtful.  And  now, 
however  palpable  the  usurpation  of  the  pro-slavery  Leg 
islature,  its  supporters  had  the  moral  support  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  for  its  measures,  and  boasted  that  they 
claimed  only  what  belonged  to  the  people  by  Constitu 
tional  right;  and  the  President  encouraged  this  claim. 
However,  it  is  a  fact  that  there  were  fewer  slaves  in  Kan 
sas  under  the  spurious  pro-slavery  legislation  than  there 
had  been  years  before.  For  as  the  Missouri  Compro 
mise  legislation  had  had  no  penalty  attached  for  its  viola 
tion,  it  had  not  in  fact  prohibited  the  extension  of  slavery. 

Since  none  of  the  "  elections  "  of  either  party  in  Kan 
sas  had  been  legally  conducted,  Douglas  looked  for  a 
new  and  valid  expression  of  the  popular  will  in  the  vote 
on  a  proposed  State  Constitution.  That  there  should  be 
a  submission  of  the  question  of  slavery  or  freedom  and 


182       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

of  other  matters  to  a  fair,  untrammeled  vote,  was  prom 
ised  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  and  Mr.  Douglas  continued  to 
support  him  through  the  summer  of  1857.  The  Presi 
dent  broke  faith  with  the  Senator.  When  it  was  pro 
posed,  in  December,  to  admit  Kansas  as  a  Slave  State, 
without  such  submission,  Judge  Douglas  determined  to 
oppose  the  measure,  even  though  he  should  have  to  stand 
alone.  It  was  a  brave  and  noble  stand  ;  but  it  was  per 
fectly  consistent  with  his  record. 

The  popular  sovereignty  of  Kansas  was  in  favor  01 
freedom.  As  the  recognized  guardian  of  that  principle, 
he  determined  to  support  the  Free-State  party  in 
the  Territory.  He  called  upon  the  President,  to  state 
frankly  his  purpose.  The  haughty  Chief  Magistrate  was 
astounded  that  Douglas  should  dare  to  oppose  his  power, 
and  admonished  the  Senator  that  it  would  be  the  ruin  of 
the  latter,  recalling  the  political  fate  of  the  Democratic 
opponents  of  Jackson's  Administration. 

"  Mr.  President,"  said  Douglas,  "  General  Jackson  is 
dead.  Good  morning." 

The  Lecompton  (slave-State)  bill  was  defeated  in  Con 
gress,  the  Douglas  men  and  the  Republicans  uniting  their 
forces  against  it.  Douglas  was  bitterly  reproached  for 
"  voting  with  the  Republicans."  But  the  New  York 
Tribune  stated  the  case  more  truly  by  saying  that  the 
Republicans  voted  with  Douglas.  They  certainly  came 
to  his  platform,  for  they  opposed  the  Lecompton  bill  on 
the  ground  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people 
of  Kansas.  The  Lecompton  iniquity  having  been  de 
feated,  it  was  now  in  order  to  submit  the  proposed  slave 
Constitution  to  the  vote  of  the  people  of  Kansas.  A  Con 
ference  Committee  of  both  Houses  brought  forth  the  Eng 
lish  bill,  providing  that  the  proposed  slave  Constitution 
should  be  thus  submitted,  and  that  Kansas  should  be  ad 
mitted  under  it,  if  it  should  be  ratified  ;  it  was  also  pro 
vided  that,  in  the  event  of  the  rejection  of  this  proposed 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       183 

Constitution,  Kansas  should  remain  a  Territory  until  she 
should  possess  a  population  sufficient  to  entitle  her  to  a 
Representative  in  Congress  on  the  numerical  basis  of 
apportionment.  Douglas,  it  was  thought,  could  not  con 
sistently  oppose  this  last  provision,  since  he  had  always 
held  it  to  be  "a  sound  rule  "  to  require  such  a  population 
as  a  condition  of  the  admission  of  any  Territory  into 
Statehood.  But  to  Douglas  the  bill  did  not  commend 
itself.  Kansas  was  offered  admission  as  a  slave  State 
with  a  population  of  35,000,  but  denied  admission  as  a 
free  State  until  she  should  have  a  population  of  93,420. 
"  Whenever  Kansas  has  population  enough  to  form  a 
slave  State,"  said  Douglas,  "  she  has  a  population  suffi 
cient  to  form  a  free  State."  The  English  bill  passed, 
however,  April  30,  1858.  On  the  3d  of  August  the  pop 
ular  election  was  held  in  Kansas,  and  the  proposed  slave 
Constitution  was  defeated  by  10,000  majority.  A  system 
atic  course  was  now^adopted  for  suppressing  the  Doug 
las  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty,  in  the  interests  of 
slavery.  Friends  of  Douglas  were  proscribed  in  all  de 
partments  of  the  Government. 

The  State  canvass  in  Illinois  in  1858  wras  characterized 
by  peculiar  interest.  A  Legislature  was  to  be  chosen, 
which  would  elect  a  successor  to  the  Senator.  Encour 
aged  by  the  hostility  of  the  Administration  to  the  Doug 
las  Democracy,  the  Republicans  took  heart  and  entered 
the  field  with  admirable  skill  and  strong  hopes  of  victory. 
To  prevent  local  divisions,  their  candidate  for  the  Senate 
was  nominated  in  advance.  It  was  Abraham  Lincoln 
who  received  this  honor — their  strongest  man.  Every 
postmaster  and  other  Federal  officer  in  Illinois  was  given 
to  understand  that  his  place  depended  upon  his  hostility 
to  the  Democratic  leader.  This  hostility  extended  to  the 
followers  of  Douglas,  who  constituted  an  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  party.  The  State  Convention  was  com 
posed  entirely  of  Douglas  men,  the  Administration  party 


184      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

having  been  defeated  in  every  counfy  of  the  State.  But 
a  new  Convention  of  Federal  office-holders  was  called, 
to  insure  Democratic  defeat.  The  popular  debate  between 
Lincoln  and  Douglas,  conducted  throughout  the  State, 
was  perhaps  the  greatest  contest  of  its  kind  in  history. 

It  did  not  seem,  at  first,  that  there  wras  much  to  debate 
about.  Freedom  in  the  Territories  being  the  end  desired, 
it  was  a  matter  of  less  importance  whether  it  were  secured 
through  the  exercise  of  popular  sovereignty  or  through 
congressional  enactment,  so  that  it  were  secured  in  fact. 
The  New  York  Tribune,  seeing  the  force  of  this  argu 
ment,  had  advised  the  Republicans  of  Illinois  not  to  op 
pose  Douglas,  but  to  have  all  friends  of  Territorial  free 
dom  united  under  one  banner  and  one  leader.  Mr. 
Greeley  did  not  realize  that  Douglas  needed  no  Republi 
can  votes — that  his  party  firmly  supported  him,  in  spite 
of  the  opposition  of  the  Administration.  Mr.  Lincoln  saw 
the  impossibility  of  making  a  strong  issue  on  the  mere 
question  of  means  for  securing  the  same  end — the  free 
dom  of  Kansas.  He  was  shrewd  enough  to  change  the 
issue.  The  States  are  in  danger,  he  cried.  What  is  to 
prevent  the  Supreme  Court  from  making  a  second  Dred 
Scott  decision,  declaring  that  the  States  can  not  consti 
tutionally  prohibit  slavery?  Of  course,  such  a  question 
was  entirely  unanswerable,  as  it  always  must  be.  Refer 
ring  to  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty,  he  labored 
to  spread  the  suspicion  that  the  Democratic  leaders  of  the 
North  had  never  intended  to  carry  it  out  in  good  faith. 
The  mythical  "second  Dred  Scott  decision "  was  his 
strongest  argument  with  the  people,  and  the  reiterated 
charge  of  premeditated  Democratic  duplicity  did  much 
to  alienate  from  the  Democracy  men  who  were  friendly 
to  the  principle  of  popular  sovereignty  in  the  abstract. 

In  his  speech  at  Quincy,  Judge  Douglas  presented  the 
case  luminously  as  follows : 

"  Chief  Justice  Taney,  in  his  opinion  in  the  Dred  Scolt 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       185 

case,  said  that,  slaves  being  property,  the  owner  of  them 
has  a  right  to  take  them  into  a  Territory  the  same  as 
other  property.  Suppose  we  grant  that  proposition. 
Then  any  man  has  a  right  to  go  to  Kansas  and  take  his 
property  with  him.  But  when  he  gets  there  he  must  rely 
upon  the  local  law  to  protect  his  property,  whatever  it 
may  be.  In  order  to  illustrate  this,  imagine  that  three  of 
you  conclude  to  go  to  Kansas.  One  takes  $10,000  worth 
of  slaves,  another  $10,000  worth  of  liquors,  and  the  third 
$10,000  worth  of  dry  goods.  When  the  man  who  owns 
the  dry  goods  arrives  there  and  commences  selling  them, 
he  is  stopped  and  prohibited  from  selling  until  he  gets  a 
license,  which  will  destroy  all  the  profit  he  can  make  on 
the  goods  to  pay  for.  When  the  man  with  the  liquors 
gets  there  and  tries  to  sell,  he  finds  a  Maine  liquor  law  in 
force,  which  prevents  him.  Now,  of  what  use  is  his  right 
to  go  there  with  his  property  unless  he  is  protected  in  the 
enjoyment  of  that  right  after  he  gets  there?  The  man 
wrho  goes  there  with  his  slaves  finds  that  there  is  no  local 
law  to  protect  him  when  he  arrives  there.  He  has  no 
remedy  if  his  slaves  run  away  to  another  country.  There 
is  no  slave  code  or  police  regulations,  and  the  absence 
of  these  excludes  his  slaves  from  the  Territory  just  as 
effectually  and  positively  as  a  constitutional  prohibition 
could." 

Judge  Douglas  quoted  from  a  speech  recently  delivered 
by  Colonel  Jefferson  Davis,  at  Bangor,  Maine,  in  which 
that  distinguished  and  representative  Southern  leader 
had  admitted  that  the  popular  will  would  practically  set 
tle  the  question  of  slavery  in  any  Territory,  even  under 
the  Dred  Scott  decision.  Said  Colonel  Davis  : 

"  If  the  inhabitants  of  any  Territory  should  refuse  to 
enact  such  laws  and  police  regulations  as  would  give 
security  to  their  property  or  to  his,  it  would  be  rendered 
more  or  less  valueless  in  proportion  to  the  difficulties  of 


186       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

holding  it  without  such  protection.  In  the  case  of  prop 
erty  in  the  labor  of  men,  or  what  is  usually  called  slave 
property,  the  insecurity  would  be  so  great  that  the  owner 
could  not  ordinarily  retain  it.  Therefore,  though  the 
right  would  remain,  the  remedy  being  withheld,  it  would 
follow  that  the  owner  would  be  practically  debarred  by 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  from  taking  slave  property 
into  a  Territory  where  the  sense  of  the  inhabitants  was 
opposed  to  its  introduction.  So  much  for  the  oft-repeated 
fallacy  of  forcing  slavery  upon  any  community." 

Colonel  Davis  was  too  good  a  lawyer  to  speak  of  men 
as  "property,"  and  notwithstanding  the  Dred  Scott  de 
cision,  preferred  to  speak  of  property  in  the  labor  of  men," 
which  expression  has  always  had  a  meaning  in  law.  Jeffer 
son  Davis  was  not  alone  in  his  view  of  the  status  of  slavery 
in  the  Territories.  Judge  Douglas  cited  Speaker  Orr, 
of  South  Carolina,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia, 
and  Sam  Smith,  of  Tennessee,  as  having  expressed  the 
same  opinion.  The  list  of  Southern  men  of  note  who 
had  so  expressed  themselves  might  be  indefinitely  ex 
tended. 

To  Mr.  Lincoln,  these  publicists  seemed  involved  in  a 
hopeless  paradox. 

"Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "Judge  Douglas  holds  that 
slavery  may  be  legally  excluded  from  a  place  where  it  has 
a  legal  right  to  go  !  " 

And  yet  there  is  often  a  sense  in  which  a  seeming 
paradox  may  b.e  practically  true.  Mr.  Lincoln  would 
doubtless  have  admitted  that  a  "  prohibitory  "  tariff  can 
be  imposed  which  will  effectively  exclude  certain  articles 
from  importation,  the  importing  merchants  having  all  the 
while  a  legal  right  to  continue  their  importation  of  those 
very  articles. 

To  overcome  the  position  of  Judge  Douglas,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  insisted  that,  if  the  Dred  Scott  decision  were  cor- 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       187 

rect,  members  of  the  Territorial  Legislatures  were 
morally  bound  to  protect  slavery  by  territorial  legislation. 
Protection  from  illegal  violence  is  one  thing.  Special 
fostering  of  a  peculiar  and  pernicious  form  of  "  prop 
erty,"  in  order  to  make  it  profitable,  or  indeed  of 
any  form  of  property,  good  or  bad,  is  another  matter. 
Because  liquors  were  declared  to  be  property,  was  it  the 
duty  of  legislators  to  encourage  and  foster  the  saloon 
business?  But  Mr.  Lincoln  went  still  further.  He  de 
clared  that  if  the  Territorial  Legislature  failed  to  protect 
slave  property,  it  then  became  the  bounden  duty  of  Con 
gress  to  do  it,  "  if  the  Dred  Scott  decision  were  correct." 

This  astounding  proposition  of  a  congressional  slave 
code,  even  in  an  argument  of  reductio  ad  absurdum,  set 
the  South  in  a  blaze.  Neither  Popular  Sovereignty  nor 
the  Dred  Scott  decision  could  add  another  acre  to  the 
domain  of  slavery.  Protected  by  the  Constitution  in  the 
States  where  it  existed,  it  might  there  long  remain ;  but 
its  further  spread  was  doomed  unless — a  congressional 
slave  code  might  secure  it.  As  the  drowning  man 
catches  at  straws,  the  pro-slavery  extremists  seized  upon 
the  idea.  From  the  day  when  Mr.  Lincoln  uttered  the 
words  of  his  argument,  it  was  constantly  used  in  the 
South.  "Even  the  Republicans  admit  our  right  to  it, 
under  the  rulings  of  the  Supreme  Court,"  they  said. 
From  that  day  the  doctrines  of  Douglas  were  repudiated 
in  the  South,  for  the  more  acceptable  argument  of  Lin 
coln.  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  confreres  put  themselves 
right  about  face  with  the  new  departure,  leaving  Douglas 
to  look  to  .others  and  not  to  them  for  support. 

Mr.  Douglas  was  triumphant  over  the  "allied  army" 
of  Republicans  and  Administration  men,  and  his  return 
to  the  Senate  was  secured  by  the  election  of  a  Demo 
cratic  Legislature.  In  the  midst  of  the  canvass,  Mr. 
Hendricks  arrived  in  Indiana.  Attention  was  every 
where  centered  upon  the  debate  in  Illinois,  the  Demo- 


188       COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

crats  generally  conceding  the  soundness  of  Douglas  & 
arguments.  The  President  had  not  yet  attempted  his 
conquest  of  the  Democracy  in  Indiana,  but  was  concen 
trating  his  destructive  talents  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
Democrats  in  Illinois.  In  his  interviews  with  men  of  the 
press  and  with  the  people  generally,  Mr.  Hendricks 
avowed  a  sincere  interest  in  the  success  of  Douglas,  and 
a  desire  that  Kansas  be  admitted  at  once  as  a  free  State, 
even  with  her  small  population.  This  last  positive  posi 
tion  of  Mr.  Hendricks  had  a  very  great  influence.  It 
wheeled  the  entire  Democracy  of  the  State  into  line. 
From  thenceforth,  all  the  Democratic  candidates  for  Con 
gress,  with  the  author  of  the  Conference  bill  at  their  head, 
avowed  the  purpose  of  admitting  free  Kansas  at  the  ear 
liest  moment. 

On  the  evening  of  September  i3th  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
announced  to  speak  on  the  Circle,  but  by  a  slight  change 
in  the  arrangements  he  addressed  his  auditors  from  the 
front  of  the  Palmer  House.  His  speech  did  not  cover  a 
wide  range.  He  deprecated  as  dangerous  the  constant 
denunciation  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  defended  the 
Administration  from  the  charge  of  extravagance  and  cor 
ruption.  With  reference  to  the  Dred  Scott  case,  he  held 
that  some  of  the  points  of  the  decision — and  those  against 
which  the  Opposition  clamored  most — were  entirely  de 
fensible.  Perhaps  it  was  unwise  for  him  to  discuss  any 
part  of  the  decision,  since  it  was  not  defensible  as  a  whole, 
it  was  of  little  practical  power  for  harm,  and  no  good 
was  likely  to  arise  from  a  practice  of  appealing  from 
courts  to  popular  gatherings.  Concerning  the  Adminis 
tration,  he  said  as  follows : 

"During  the  year  ending  June  30,  1852,  Mr.  Fillmore 
collected  of  revenue  $49, 165, 933.84,  employing  2, 530  men, 
at  a  cost  of  $3,865,423.28 ;  while  during  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1857,  the  Democratic  Administration  collected 
of  revenue  $64,171,030.05,  employing  3,088  men  at  a 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       189 

cost  of  $3,552,359.50;  showing  that  the  Democratic  Ad 
ministration  for  the  year  1857  collected  of  revenue  $15,- 
005,100.21  more — employed  558  men  more — at  a  cost  of 
$313,063.78  less  than  during  the  last  year  of  the  Fillmore 
(Whig)  Administration." 

If  the  speech  was  less  inspiring  than  the  addresses  of 
Mr.  Hendricks  usually  were,  it  was  because  of  the  cir 
cumstances  with  which  he  wras  surrounded.  A  general 
endorsement  of  Buchanan  was  impossible ;  yet  as  hope 
was  still  entertained  that  better  counsels  might  prevail 
with  the  President,  it  was  clearly  not  the  duty  of  Demo 
cratic  officials  to  surrender  at  once  their  positions  through 
which  they  might  hope  to  influence  him.  It  was  plain  to 
Mr.  Hendricks,  however,  that  the  breach  between  the 
Democrats  of  the  North  and  the  President  was  growing 
wider,  and  the  hope  of  a  change  in  the  President's  course 
was  becoming  less. 

The  year  1859  was  one  of  trouble  and  anxiety  for  the 
nation.  When  Douglas  returned  to  the  Senate  he  was 
removed  from  the  Committee  on  Territories,  as  being  un 
sound  in  his  political  principles  ;  for  the  party  which  the 
Administration  had  built  up  in  the  South  abominated 
the  name  of  popular  sovereignty.  It  was  not  a  mark  of 
personal  hostility  to  the  man,  so  much  as  an  attack  upon 
the  Democratic  party  of  the  North  that  sustained  him. 
Bold  measures  were  now  taken  to  stamp  out  all  opposi 
tion  to  the  pro-slavery  clique  of  the  party.  Among  the 
ablest  of  the  supporters  of  Douglas  was  Senator  Brod- 
erick,  of  California.  Facing  with  equal  bravery  the 
angry  sea  of  pro-slavery  reactionists  in  the  South  and 
Republican  extremists  in  the  North,  these  men  stood 
grandly  for  their  principles.  Douglas,  it  was  thought, 
was  degraded  and  disgraced,  and  shorn  of  his  influence. 
With  Broderick,  more  summary  measures  were  taken. 
He  was  challenged  by  Judge  Terry  to  a  duel,  and  killed. 
Never  since  the  fall  of  Hamilton  was  the  country  so 


190      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

moved   as  by  the  slaying  of  this  tribune  of  the  people, 

which 

"  Roused  the  vengeance  naught  but  blood  could  quell." 

The  insane  and  bloody  raid  of  John  Brown  in  Virginia, 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  enraged  the  South  to  a  like 
pitch  of  fury. 

Through  all  the  year  the  power  of  Douglas  rose  among 
the  masses  of  the  North  and  of  the  border.  He  seemed 
possessed  of  super-human  endurance,  and  he  charmed 
the  multitudes  as  by  a  spell.  There  was  no  just  reason 
why  he  should  not  be  equally  popular  in  the  South,  for 
his  platform  was  broad  as  the  Union,  and  he  joined  in  no 
crusade  against  the  South,  but  was  foremost  among  those 
who  appreciated  her  position,  guarded  her  rights,  and 
denounced  all  acts  and  intents  of  aggression  upon  her. 
Wherever  he  went  (and  he  spoke  in  many  cities),  he 
gained  supporters  among  the  conservative  and  thought 
ful  of  the  population.  In  September  he  addressed  the 
public  through  the  channel  of  Harper's  Monthly,  setting 
forth  the  position  of  his  party  in  1856  as  the  true  position 
on  the  question  of  slavery,  and  defending  it  by  most  per 
suasive  arguments. 

The  resignation  of  Commissioner  Hendricks  was  finally 
sent  to  the  President  in  the  summer  of  1859.  That  n 
Democrat  of  Mr.  Hendricks's  standing  should  have  con 
tinued  his  connection  with  such  an  Administration  for  so 
long  a  time,  requires  explanation.  His  contest  with  the 
Missouri  land  claimant  mentioned  above  was  long  and 
bitter.  He  decided  that  the  land  was  intended  for  actual 
settlers,  and  must  not  be  seized  by  speculators  upon  false 
claims  of  residence  by  their  agents.  The  amount  in 
volved  in  the  Missouri  case  was  large,  the  outcome  im 
portant — both  as  to  the  matter  in  hand  and  in  the  way  of 
precedent.  The  strongest  possible  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  to  reverse  the  decision  of  the  Commissioner  or 
to  secure  his  removal  and  the  appointment  of  a  more 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       191 

supple  officer  in  his  place.  Resignation  under  such  cir 
cumstances  was  out  of  the  question. 

To  say  nothing  of  the  determination  of  the  Commis 
sioner  that  the  Land  Office  should  not  be  made  a  machine 
of  the  ".allied  army "  for  destroying  the  Democratic 
party — or  indeed  for  any  other  political  purpose — the  de 
mand  of  the  President  for  removals  and  appointments  at 
the  latter's  will  could  not  have  been  complied  with  except 
to  the  serious  detriment  of  the  service.  Mr.  Hendricks 
adhered  to  his  cardinal  doctrine  of  a  true  civil  service — 
the  responsibility  of  the  chiefs  of  Bureaus,  and  the  tests 
of  fitness  and  character  on  the  part  of  the  clerks.  Among 
the  young  men  of  the  Land  Office  was  Samuel  V.  Niles, 
a  nephew  of  the  noted  author  of  Niles's  Register.  He 
had  been  a  Whig  in  politics,  but  in  his  official  relations 
had  not  been  an  offensive  partisan.  His  efficiency  and 
worth  were  of  the  highest  order.  The  demand  for  his 
removal  was  met  as  the  other  like  demands  had  been. 
It  was  pressed,  however,  in  no  conciliatory  spirit,  and 
was  a  means  of  hurrying  the  resignation,  already  long 
resolved  upon. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  fully  sustained  in  his  ruling  in  the 
Missouri  case,  not  only  by  the  courts,  but  also  by  the 
President.  Mr.  Buchanan,  however  tortuously  he  may 
have  twisted  the  truth,  and  however  weakly  he  may  have 
submitted  to  the  will  of  corrupt  men  in  politics,  was  al 
ways  honest  to  the  last  degree  in  business  dealings,  both 
public  and  private,  where  money  or  property  was  con 
cerned.  Mr.  Hendricks's  record  as  Commissioner  was 
one  of  which  he  might  well  be  proud.  He  was  a  true 
civil  service  reformer.  His  record  was  clean.  Integrity 
and  ability  combined  to  render  him,  as  an  officer,  wholly 
unassailable. 

The  charge  that  he  levied  assessments  upon  the  clerks 
of  the  Land  Office  has  been  made  occasionally,  in  later 
years.  So  utterly  opposed  were  such  supposed  acts  to  the 


192      COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE. 

whole  course  of  his  administration  of  the  office,  that  he 
did  not  for  a  time  deem  it  worth  while  to  make  any  re 
ply  to  the  charge.  The  reiteration  of  the  original  alle 
gation,  with  a  material  addition,  by  the  Indianapolis 
Journal  in  1882,  led  to  the  subjoined  communication, 
which  appeared  in  the  issue  ot  August  24th. 
"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Indianapolis  Journal: 

"  The  following  sentence  appears  in  one  of  the  articles 
of  the  Journal  this  morning  : 

"  '  It  will  be  remembered  by  everybody  except  Demo 
cratic  statesmen,  that  Mr.  Hendricks  not  only  levied  as 
sessments  against  the  clerks  under  him,  but  made  sure 
of  realizing  the  same  by  retaining  the  necessary  amount 
out  of  their  salaries,  so  that  the  money  went  directly 
from  the  United  States  Treasury  into  the  Democratic 
campaign  fund.' 

"  This  statement  is  wholly  untrue.  But  I  would  not  feel 
called  upon  to  notice  it  except  for  the  fact  that  it  contains 
a  charge  of  gross  impropriety,  the  gravity  of  which  I 
think  you  failed  to  realize.  It  is  to  the  effect  that,  as 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  I  retained 
from  the  clerks  of  that  office  portions  of  their  salaries, 
"  so  that  the  money  went  directly  from  the  United  States 
Treasury  into  the  Democratic  campaign  fund."  That 
could  not  be  ;  it  was  wholly  impossible.  The  Commis 
sioner  could  not  if  he  wished  to,  exercise  such  control. 
The  salaries  of  the  clerks  of  his  office  were  not  paid  by  him 
self  or  any  one  connected  with  that  office.  The  pay  clerk 
was  an  officer  of  the  Interior  Department,  under  the  imme 
diate  supervision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  He  was 
independent  of  the  heads  of  the  Bureaus.  They,  as  well 
as  their  clerks,  were  paid  by  him.  His  office  was  in  the 
Interior  Department  proper.  The  clerks  received  their 
pay  from  him  in  person,  and  each  one  gave  his  receipt  for  it, 


COMMISSIONER  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE.       193 

and  he  rendered  his  account  to  the  proper  auditor  and 
comptroller. 

"  I  do  not  see  how  it  could  have  been  as  you  state,  ex 
cept  by  a  corrupt  or  criminal  collusion ;  and  I  do  not 
think  you  would  make  that  charge  or  that  I  need  to 
deny  it.  T.  A.  HENDRICKS." 


13 


CHAPTER  XL 

CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

The  year  1860,  big  with  fatal  destinies  for  the  Democ 
racy,  found  that  party  dominant  in  a  majority  of  the 
States  and  in  the  Federal  Congress.  But  the  President 
had  apostatized  from  the  historic  principles  of  the  party 
and  from  the  Cincinnati  platform  on  which  he  had  been 
elected.  The  party  was  rent  from  center  to  circumfer 
ence  by  a  breach  whose  depth  none  could  fail  to  see  ;  vet 
in  the  arrogance  of  long-held  power  it  was  still  confident 
that  internal  strifes  could  be  allayed,  and  did  not  for  a 
moment  doubt  its  triumph  in  the  approaching  campaign. 
Local  politics  was  completely  lost  sight  of  in  the  absorb 
ing  interest  of  national  issues  ;  and  in  every  State,  Demo 
crats  were  arrayed  on  either  side  of  the  Kansas-Ne 
braska  controversy.  Some,  with  President  Buchanan, 
supported  the  pro-slavery  theory ;  others  followed  Sen 
ator  Douglas  in  his  popular  sovereignty  doctrine,  in 
the  belief  that  its  effect  would  be  to  give  the  new  Terri 
tories  to  freedom  through  the  exercise  of  their  own 
choice. 

This  contest  was  peculiarly  sharp  in  Indiana,  a  State 
upon  whose  teeming  soil  politics  has  from  the  early  days 
flourished  with  as  vigorous  a  growth  as  the  crops  of  her 
boundless  prairies.  Here  as  in  other  States,  though  per 
haps  less  conspicuously  than  in  Illinois,  all  the  powers  of 
the  Administration  had  been  exerted  to  whip  the  party 
into  line  in  support  of  its  policy  and  candidates  ;  and  it 
was  said  that  no  postmaster  could  speak  the  name  of 

(  194) 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  195 

Douglas  otherwise  than  in  denunciation  without  danger 
to  his  official  head.  The  Administration  faction  was  led 
and  disciplined  by  John  L.  Robinson,  the  United  States 
Marshal,  under  the  chief  command  of  Senator  Bright, 
the  party  "  boss  "  of  that  day,  and  one  of  the  greatest  of 
his  kind. 

Abler  leaders  could  not  have  been  found.  Robinson 
was  a  notable  man,  now  in  the  vigor  and  maturity  of  his 
powers, — "his  forehead  broad  and  high,  his  eyes  coal 
black  and  wonderfully  expressive,  and  his  hair  as  the 
raven's  wing  ;  in  his  day  he  was  a  power  in  Indiana,  and 
when  he  died  one  of  the  brightest  intellects  in  the  State 
went  out."  Almost  in  his  youth  he  had  won  his  laurels 
in  public  debate  with  "the  Whig  Goliah,"  Caleb  B. 
Smith,  and  after  six  years'  service  in  Congress  was  ap 
pointed  by  President  Pierce  (in  1853)  to  the  office  he  still 
held.  His  influence  was  increased  by  his  ownership  of 
the  Rushville  Jacksonian,  which  he  made  a  vigorous 
Administration  organ.  And  now,  within  three  months 
of  his  death,  he  was  about  to  fight  with  his  usual  vigor  and 
skill,  but  with  unaccustomed  defeat,  his  last  fight. 

Jesse  D.  Bright  had  been  for  a  score  of  years  the 
leader  of  the  Indiana  Democracy.  After  a  brilliant  and 
triumphant  canvass  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  he  had  been 
sent  when  scarcely  of  constitutional  age  to  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  and  was  now  in  the  sixteenth  year  of 
his  service  there,  during  four  of  which  he  had  stood,  as 
President  pro  temfore  of  the  Senate,  within  one  step  of  the 
Presidential  chair.  "  His  physique  was  splendid,  his 
face  was  cleanly  shaven,  and  his  clothes  fitted  him  well. 
He  had  a  good  head  and  a  good  face ;  he  stood  straight 
upon  his  feet,  and  carried  himself  as  one  having  authority. 
He  was  imperious  in  his  manner,  brooked  no  opposi 
tion  from  friend  or  foe,  and  made  personal  devotion  to 
himself  the  test  of  Democracy."  He  was  elected  the  third 
time  to  the  Senate  after  a  bolt  in  the  Legislature  ;  and  the 


196  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

next  General  Assembly,  being  Republican,  held  this  elec 
tion  illegal  and  attempted  to  fill  the  alleged  vacancies  by 
electing  Henry  S.  Lane  and  Wm.  M.  McCarty.  These 
gentlemen  were  refused  admission  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  but  Douglas,  Mason  and  Broderick,  Democrats, 
voted  in  their  favor.  This  action  of  Douglas  exasperated 
Bright,  and  led  him  ever  after  to  oppose  with  all  the 
vehemence  of  his  nature,  the  aspirations  of  the  Senator 
from  Illinois.  His  sympathies  and  interests  were  wholly 
with  the  Administration  faction.  Living  on  the  Ohio, 
owning  plantations  and  slaves  in  Kentucky,  he  was  at 
heart  a  Southerner,  and  gave  his  influence  to  the  promo 
tion  of  the  slave  interest. 

The  Administration  strove  to  call  oft'  the  Indiana  Dem 
ocracy  from  the  support  of  Douglas  by  flattering  the 
Presidential  aspirations  of  General  Joseph  Lane,  "the 
Marion  of  the  Mexican  War,1'  a  pioneer  of  Indiana, 
now  United  States  Senator  from  Oregon.  He  had  been 
their  favorite  candidate  in  the  National  Convention  of 
1852,  receiving  the  solid  vote  of  the  State  delegation 
through  thirty  ballots.  In  that  contest  Bright  and  Robin 
son  had  been  Lane's  enthusiastic  champions  ;  and  whether 
they  still  entertained  any  hope  of  his  nomination  or  not, 
they  were  now  willing  to  use  his  heroic  figure  and  the 
charm  of  his  character  and  reputation  as  a  bulwark  against 
the  powerful  tide  of  Douglas  sentiment.  Among  the  other 
active  Administration  Democrats  were  the  eloquent  Wil- 
lard,  Governor  of  the  State  ;  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  Sec 
retary  of  State  and  aspirant  for  the  nomination  for 
Governor;  Dr.  J.  L.  Athon,  Auditor  of  State;  and 
Joseph  W.  Chapman. 

But  the  star  of  Douglas  was  in  the  ascendant.  His 
manly  character  had  won  the  admiration  of  the  country, 
his  fearless  battles  against  great  odds  had  inspired  confi 
dence  and  enthusiasm ;  and  his  happy  discovery  and 
masterly  demonstration  of  the  way  to  freedom  in  the 


CANDID  ATP:    FOR    GOVERNOR.  197 

Territories,  within  constitutional  bounds,  commanded  the 
approval  of  the  liberty-loving  Democracy  of  the  North. 
In  Indiana  his  following  was  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
party,  the  aspiring  young  men,  and  a  select  few  of  the 
older  leaders.  Among  the  last  was  John  G.  Davis,  who 
at  this  very  time  was  defending  his  record  and  defining 
the  positions  of  the  two  factions,  on  the  floor  of  Congress. 
Elected  in  1858  as  an  independent  candidate,  over  a  Re 
publican  and  an  Administration  Democrat,  he  had  said  in 
a  speech  at  Indianapolis,  November  i8th  of  that  year: 

"Any  candidate  nominated  for  the  Presidency  in  1860 
who  takes  the  ground  that  the  Constitution  carries  slavery 
into  the  Territories  without  local  law,  can  not  carry  a 
single  township  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  It 
was  charged  by  the  opposition  in  '56  that  the  Democracv 
was  the  pro-slavery  party  and  intended  to  make  slavery 
national  and  freedom  sectional.  If  the  doctrine  of  the 
President,  that  the  Constitution  without  local  law  takes 
slavery  into  the  Territories,  is  true,  then  our  Republican 
friends  were  correct.  Fellow  citizens,  I  enter  my  solemn 
protest  against  this  new  doctrine.  No  man  of  any  dis 
tinction  within  my  knowledge,  except  John  C.  Calhoun, 
ever  intimated  that  the  Constitution  took  slavery  into  the 
Territories  without  existing  laws.  That  doctrine  took 
Mr.  Calhoun  down  the  stream  of  time  politically,  and 
will  take  Mr.  Buchanan  and  his  Administration." 

When  his  Democracy  was  questioned  in  the  House, 
January  4,  1860,  he  said  : 

"  I  desire  to  tell  the  gentleman,  the  House,  and  the 
country  that  I  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  four  thousand. 
I  was  elected  as  a  Democrat,  and  in  the  seventy  speeches 
I  made,  in  which  I  declared  myself  a  Democrat,  I  did 
not  cross  a  t  or  dot  an  /  as  to  my  political  faith.  * 
I  did  not  denounce  the  Administration,  except  on  the 
Lecompton  question.  *  *  My  colleague  said  I 


198  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

denounced  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  I  said  it  was  false. 
I  never  denounced  that  decision.  I  respect  the  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  will  obey  them  all,  but  I  have 
the  right  to  put  my  own  constructions  on  them, — to  differ 
from  the  President." 

And  this  was  the  right  claimed  by  the  young  Democ 
racy  of  Indiana  "  to  differ  from  the  President,"  who  in  his 
celebrated  Silliman  letter  had  construed  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  as  determining  that  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution 
slavery  existed  as  much  in  Kansas  as  in  South  Carolina. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  party  as  the  nth  of  Jan 
uary,  the  day  set  for  the  State  Convention,  approached 
(General  Jackson's  Day  falling  this  year  on  Sunday)  ;  and 
such  was  the  general  issue  upon  which  the  factions  would 
test  the  question  of  leadership.  The  hostility  among  Dem 
ocrats  was  intense,  and  for  the  time  more  bitter  than  that 
felt  toward  the  party  foe.  Charges  and  counter  charges 
were  rife.  A  letter  from  Washington  to  the  Cincinnati 
Enquirer  given  in  the  Sentinel,  "for  what  it  is  worth," 
related  that  nine  prominent  gentlemen  had  met  after  a 
visit  to  the  White  House,  and  agreed  to  subscribe  eight 
thousand  dollars  each  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  In 
diana  delegation  to  Charleston  against  Douglas,  the 
funds  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  energetic  friends  of 
the  Administration,  who  were  to  traverse  the  State  and 
see  the  delegates  before  the  Convention.  A  day  or  two 
afterward  appeared  in  the  same  paper,  with  sarcastic 
comment  and  a  profession  to  have  stopped  the  press  for 
its  admission,  a  letter  from  "A  True  Democrat,"  reveal 
ing  that  a  secret  organization  of  the  Douglas  Democrats, 
originating  at  Indianapolis  and  extending  throughout  the 
State,  had  been  formed  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  break 
ing  up  the  Convention  if  the  Administration  men  should 
get  control  of  it,  by  taking  the  doors  from  their  hinges 
and  admitting  a  mob  of  armed  ruffians.  The  State  Cen 
tral  Committee  was  accused  of  intending  to  help  some 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  199 

scheme  of  packing  the  house  by  its  distribution  of  tickets. 
But  the  Committee  seems  to  have  done  its  work  well  and 
impartially,  having  made  repeated  publication  of  its  ar 
rangements,  and  having  given  tickets  of  admission  to 
both  sides  in  cases  of  contesting  county  delegations. 

Finally  at  10  A.  M.  of  January  n  the  now  historic 
Democratic  State  Convention  of  1860  was  called  to  order 
by  Joseph  W.  Chapman,  acting  for  the  State  Central 
Committee.  It  met  in  the  Metropolitan  Hall,  now  the 
Park  Theatre,  and  was  composed  of  395  delegates  rep 
resenting  all  the  91  counties.  Immediately  began  the 
fight  between  the  factions  in  the  contest  for  the  organi 
zation,  and  in  the  first  move  the  Douglas  men  secured  a 
victory  by  electing  Robert  Lowry  Temporary  President. 
Their  programme  then  was  to  make  Norman  Eddy  Per 
manent  President,  but  in  this  they  were  forestalled  by 
John  L.  Robinson,  who  moved  that  the  temporary  or 
ganization  be  declared  permanent.  This  motion,  being 
in  favor  of  their  own  organization,  could  not  be  opposed 
by  the  Douglas  men,  though  made  by  the  leader  of  their 
adversaries.  Accordingly,  though  taken  by  surprise, 
they  joined  in  its  support,  and  Lowry  was  elected  Perma 
nent  President  by  acclamation.  Thus  Robinson  not  only 
avoided  a  second  defeat,  but  apparently  won  a  victory. 
By  this  manoeuvre  he  hoped  to  disguise  the  weakness  of 
the  Buchanan  faction,  and  perhaps  to  rally  doubtful  dele 
gates  to  its  support.  He  had  himself  been  announced  as 
the  Administration  candidate  for  the  Permanent  Presi 
dency,  a  position  he  had  filled  with  ability  and  grace  in 
the  Convention  of  '56 ;  but  probably  seeing  disaster 
ahead,  he  had  withdrawn  toward  the  last,  and  put  for 
ward  Judge  Samuel  E.  Perkins,  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Next  came  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  on  Creden 
tials,  with  Lew  Wallace,  afterward  General,  as  Chair 
man  ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon  was  consumed 
in  settling  contests  in  the  delegations  of  three  counties. 


200  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

The  forenoon  of  the  next  day  was  devoted  to  the  remain 
ing  contests  in  county  delegations,  and  the  appointment 
of  various  committees,  so  that  it  was  not  till  the  afternoon 
of  the  second  day  of  the  Convention  that  the  final  trial 
of  strength  occurred.  This  was  precipitated  by  John  C. 
Walker  in  the  presentation  of  the  following  clear-cut  res 
olution  : 

Resolved^  That  while  we  pledge  the  support  of  the 
Democracy  of  Indiana  to  the  nominee  of  the  Charleston 
Convention,  whosoever  he  may  be,  the  delegates  to  that 
body  from  this  State  are  instructed  to  cast  their  votes  as 
a  unit  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  to  use  all  honorable 
means  in  their  power  to  secure  his  nomination. 

Mr.  Walker  was  the  right  man  to  lead  this  fight.  Of 
slight  figure,  high  forehead  and  classic  features,  the  out 
ward  man  scarcely  suggested  the  intellect,  ambition  and 
courage  within.  He  had  become  a  leader  among  men 
when  scarcely  more  than  a  boy,  and  after  honorable  ser 
vice  in  the  Legislature  had  in  '56  defeated  the  brilliant 
Robinson  in  the  race  for  the  nomination  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor.  Withdrawing  from  the  State  ticket  because 
under  the  constitutional  age,  he  had  from  that  time,  as 
editor  of  the  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  and  afterward  of 
the  Laporte  Times,  and  as  candidate  for  Congress  against 
Schuyler  Colfax,  labored  to  promote  Democratic  doc 
trines  as  interpreted  by  Judge  Douglas.  In  his  own  county 
he  had  this  year  led  a  skillful  movement  against  the  Ad 
ministration  wing,  and  so  completely  outgeneraled  the 
veteran  leaders  that  when  in  the  convention  he  had 
stated  his  case  in  the  fifteen  minute  speech  allowed  to 
each  side,  his  contesting  delegation  from  Laporte  was 
seated  by  acclamation. 

And  now  his  resolution  for  instructions  was  opposed 
with  all  the  tactics  of  parliamentary  warfare  : — a  motion 
by  Robinson  to  substitute  the  name  of  Joseph  Lane  for 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  201 

that  of  Douglas  ;  a  motion  that  each  Congressional  dis 
trict  instruct  its  own  delegates  or  not,  as  it  saw  fit ;  and 
various  other  amendments.  But  all  were  voted  down, 
and  on  the  original  resolution  the  vote  was  recorded  as 
follows  :  Whole  number  cast,  394  ;  ayes,  265  ;  nays,  129. 

The  remaining  acts  of  the  Convention  were  inspired 
with  the  spirit  of  compromise  and  reconciliation.  John 
C.  Walker  and  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  were  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  ticket  as  candidates  for  Presidential  Electors 
for  the  State  at  large,  thus  representing  both  divisions  of 
the  party.  Among  the  State  delegates  to  the  national 
convention  were  E.  M.  Huntington,  Robert  Lowry,  S. 
H.  Buskirk,  and  J.  B.  Foley. 

The  way  was  now  clear  for  the  nomination  of  candi 
dates  for  the  State  offices,  a  matter  which  had  thus  far 
interested  delegates  but  little.  This  was  due  not  merely 
to  the  absorbing  interest  in  the  fight  for  Douglas,  but  to 
the  fact  that  the  nomination  for  Governor  was  a  foregone 
conclusion,  and  all  felt  that  nothing  remained  for  the 
convention  but  to  register  the  unanimous  choice  of  the 
party  by  the  nomination  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  Sev 
eral  distinguished  names,  it  is  true,  had  received  favor 
able  mention  in  connection  with  this  high  office  ;  and  the 
State  Sentinel  of  January  nth  announced  J.  L.  Athon,  A. 
C.  Downey  and  Cyrus  L.  Dunham  as  candidates.  Since 
his  retirement  from  the  Land  Office,  the  previous  August. 
Mr.  Hendricks  had  remained  quietly  at  Shelby ville, 
attending  to  such  legal  work  as  came  in  his  way, 
seldom  leaving  home  unless  on  professional  business. 
Though  announcing  his  candidacy  frankly,  he  made  but 
little  effort  in  his  own  behalf,  having  early  in  the  season 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  Dunham  that  they  should 
both  suspend  all  personal  canvassing  for  the  nomination. 
This  agreement  led  to  a  rather  amusing  dispute.  Dun 
ham  having  learned  that  Dr.  W.  S.  Pierce,  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Hendricks,  had  visited  several  county  con- 


202  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

ventions,  addressed  a  card  "To  the  Democracy  of  the 
State,"  a  few  days  before  the  convention,  calling  atten 
tion  to  the  Doctor's  course,  which  he  characterized  as  a 
violation  of  the  agreement.  To  which  the  Doctor  replied 
next  day,  saying  that  if  he  had  supposed  the  agreement 
included  himself  he  should  have  asked  to  be  l'  paired 
off"  with  some  of  Mr.  Dunham's  many  friends  who  had 
been  indefatigable  in  his  behalf,  and  jestingly  attributed 
Dunham's  outburst  to  the  "  testiness  "  of  old  bachelors, 
for  which  matrimony  would  be  the  best  cure. 

But  whatever  efforts  were  made  by  other  candidates, 
the  sentiment  for  Hendricks  had  steadily  grown  stronger. 
Every  day  for  months  the  newspapers  recorded  the  reso 
lutions  of  county  conventions  instructing  in  his  favor. 
This  is  easily  explained.  He  was  personally  popular, 
his  record  was  unassailable,  and  he  was  at  this  time  the 
most  available  man.  Appointed  Commissioner  of  the 
Land  Office  by  Pierce,  whom  he  lately  characterized  as 
"  one  of  the  stateliest  of  our  leaders  of  the  earlier  days," 
he  had  remained  in  office  for  a  time  under  Buchanan, 
with  whom,  however,  he  had  been  heartily  out  of 
sympathy.  His  official  labors  had  removed  him  in  a 
measure  from  the  field  of  active  politics,  and  prevented 
him  from  assuming  an  attitude  of  aggressive  hostility  to 
the  Administration.  He  was  thus  a  candidate  upon  whom 
both  divisions  of  the  party  could  unite. 

Consequently  when  the  convention  assembled,  Dun 
ham  found  so  many  delegates  instructed  for  Hendricks 
that  he  resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  race.  This  was 
effected  for  him  by  his  friend  Governor  Willard,  who,  in 
the  discussion  on  the  appointment  of  national  delegates 
and  electors,  withdrew  Dunham's  name  as  a  candidate 
for  Governor,  and  nominated  him  for  elector  for  the  State 
at  large.  This  drew  forth  loud  cries  of  "  Dunham  !  "  and 
in  response  he  made  an  eloquent  and  feeling  speech, 
counseling  unity  of  purpose  and  spirit,  in  which  he  said : 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  203 


"  He  who  is  not  willing  to  come  forward  to  this  Dem 
ocratic  altar,  which  I  feel  to  be  the  common  altar  of  my 
country,  and  here  offer  up  his  personal  ambition,  his  per 
sonal  affections  and  his  personal  hostilities,  is  neither  a 
good  Democrat  nor  a  true  patriot.  I  am  satisfied  that  my 
continuance  to  be  a  candidate  will  not  contribute  to  the 
peace  and  harmony  of  this  Convention,  but  that  my  with 
drawal  may.  I  offer  it,  therefore,  a  free-will  offering  to 
the  success  of  the  Democratic  party  and  Democratic  prin 
ciples.  I  have  known  my  chief  competitor,  Hon.  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks,  long  and  well.  He  is  worthy  of  your  con 
fidence,  and  I  know  he  will  make  a  good  executive  officer. 
I  only  ask  that  when  the  proper  time  comes  I  may  my 
self  put  his  name  in  nomination.  I  stand  by  the  Demo 
cratic  eagles.  If  I  can  not  bear,  I  will  follow  them  to 
victory." 

Such  was  the  Roman  spirit  of  Cyrus  L.  Dunham,  a 
man  worthy  to  be  held  in  remembrance  for  many  high 
qualities.  His  fervid  eloquence  and  valiant  heart  had 
early  attracted  attention  to  his  great  intellectual  powers, 
and  had  raised  him  from  obscure  poverty  through  many 
official  trusts  to  a  seat  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  to  which  he  was  three  times  elected  over  some  of 
the  foremost  men  of  the  time.  Afterward,  as  Colonel  in 
the  Union  army,  he  proved  himself  an  able  soldier  and 
displayed  a  bravery  that  was  the  admiration  of  all  be 
holders.  He  was  now  Secretary  of  State.  If  his  spirit 
of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  country  and  party  had 
inspired  all  Democrats,  the  war  might  have  been  post 
poned  if  not  averted. 

Through  some  accident  or  contrivance,  Dunham's  wish 
that  he  might  himself  put  his  honored  rival's  name  in 
nomination  was  not  gratified  ;  but  after  the  appointment 
of  delegates  and  electors  was  disposed  of,  on  the  evening 
of  January  I2th,  Mr.  Lew  Wallace  made  the  motion  that 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks  be  nominated  for  Governor  by 


204  CANDID  ATP:  FOR  GOVERNOR. 

acclamation.  This  motion  was  received  with  deafening 
cheers,  which  continued  till  the  nominee  appeared  upon 
the  platform  and  was  introduced  by  the  President.  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  then  forty  years  of  age,  of  medium  height, 
scarcely  five  feet  ten  inches,  with  a  figure  well  rounded 
though  not  heavy,  a  large  head,  an  oval  face  cleanshaven 
like  the  statesmen  of  old,  shaded  by  heavy  brown  hair 
and  lighted  by  bright  gray  eyes.  His  bearing  was  easy, 
but  modest,  his  manners  courteous,  his  speech  at  once 
impressive  and  pleasing.  The  enthusiasm  of  his  recep 
tion  showed  that  he  already  possessed  in  a  high  degree 
the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  party — sentiments 
which  were  destined  to  grow  stronger  with  each  succeed 
ing  year.  In  his  speech  of  thanks  to  the  Convention  he 
said,  among  other  things  : 

"  To  you,  gentlemen,  and  those  whom  you  represent,  I 
here  tender  my  heartfelt  thanks  and  gratitude  ;  and  this 
gratitude 'is  increased  when  I  consider  that  Dr.  Athon, 
distinguished  by  his  high  executive  abilities,  that  Judge 
Downey,  celebrated  for  his  great  intelligence,  and  the 
gallant  and  talented  Dunham,  have  been  mentioned  for 
this  high  honor.  *  *  I  wish  it  to  be  understood 
that  from  this  moment  all  memory  of  any  opposition  that 
has  been  made  to  my  nomination  is  forgotten  forever.  I 
honor  the  men  who  honored  my  opponents.  I 

expect  to  devote  what  of  talent  and  energy  I  possess  to 
secure  the  success  of  the  nominations  this  day  made  by 
the  greatest  Convention  before  which  I  have  ever  stood. 
*  *  Indiana  is  one  of  the  States  that  have  stood  out 
against  the  current  of  fanaticism  that  has  swept  over  so 
many  other  States  ;  that  current  has  reached  our  borders  ; 
shall  the  heart  of  Indiana  cease  to  beat  for  the  Union? 
[Shouts  of  "  Never  !  "]  Let  that  be  the  word  till  October 
shall  have  decided  the  result.  *  For  myself  I 

thank  you  that  you  have  already  put  upon  the  electoral 
ticket  the  Hon.  C.  L.  Dunham  and  the  gallant  Walker, 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  205 

to  help  me  in  this  fight — I  thank  you  for  that :  and  if 
every  man  here  to-night  will  go  to  his  home  and  labor 
with  zeal  in  the  Democratic  cause,  I  believe  that  victory 
will  perch  upon  our  standard.  Let  it  be  so,  and  believe 
me,  gentlemen,  I  will  fight  the  battle  to  the  best  of  my 
ability.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  men  of  Indiana  are 
going  to  become  sectional  in  their  views.  They  love  not 
Indiana  alone,  but  all  the  States  cemented  together  in 
Union  by  the  blood  of  our  fathers." 

The  remaining  work  of  the  Convention  was  rapidly 
disposed  of.  The  nomination  for  Lieutenant  Governor 
was  conferred  upon  David  Turpie,  that  fine  scholar,  faith 
ful  Democrat  and  noble  gentleman,  still  living  and  ever 
ready  to  give  his  time  and  talents  to  the  cause  of  his 
country  and  of  his  party.  The  other  places  were  filled 
with  excellent  men,  each  one  deserving  extended  notice, 
so  that  next  morning  the  party  papers  displayed  at  the 
head  of  their  columns  what  was  deemed  a  remarkably 
strong  ticket,  as  follows  : 

DEMOCRATIC  STATE  TICKET. 


For  Governor, 

THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS,  OF  SHELBY. 

For  Lieutenant  Governor, 

DAVID  TURPIE,  OF  WHITE. 

For  Secretary  of  State, 
WILLIAM  H.  SCHLATER,  OF  WAYNE. 

For  Auditor  of  State, 
JOSEPH  RISTINE,  OF  FOUNTAIN. 

For  Treasurer  of  State, 
NATHANIEL  F.  CUNNINGHAM,  OF  VIGO. 

For  Attorney  General, 

OSCAR  B.  HORD,  OF  DECATUR. 

For  Superintendent  of  Piiblic  Instruction, 

SAMUEL  L.  RUGG,  OF  ALLEN. 


206  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

For  Clerk  Supreme  Court, 

CORNELIUS  O'BRIEN,  OF  DEARBORN. 

For  Reporter  Supreme  Court, 

MICHAEL  C.  KERR,  OF  FLOYD. 

The  resolutions  were  many  and  rambling,  attempting 
to  settle  all  the  issues  of  the  day.  When  they  had  been 
read  through,  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker  offered  as  a  substitute 
for  the  whole  a  brief,  and  emphatic  affirmation  of  the  Cin 
cinnati  platform  of  '56 ;  but  the  lateness  of  the  hour  pre 
vented  consideration,  and  the  tired  Convention  adopted 
the  long  list  with  cheers.  Among  them  were  an  endorse 
ment  of  efforts  for  the  peaceful  acquisition  of  Cuba,  and 
of  homesteads  for  actual  settlers  ;  denunciation  of  Know- 
Nothingism  and  religious  intolerance,  and  of  the  Harper's 
Ferry  raid,  together  with  the  following  : 

"  That  now  as  heretofore,  claiming  fellowship  with  and 
earnestly  desiring  the  co-operation  of  all  who  regard  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution  as  the 
paramount  issue,  we  again  declare  our  utter  repudiation 
of  all  sectional  parties  and  platforms  concerning  domes 
tic  slavery,  which  tend  to  embroil  the  States,  and  whose 
avowed  purposes,  if  consummated,  must  end  in  disunion 
and  civil  war. 

"  That  the  history  of  the  past  fully  attests  the  correct 
ness  and  wisdom  of  the  adoption  by  the  American  Dem 
ocracy  of  the  principles  contained  in  the  organic  laws 
establishing  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as 
embodying  the  only  safe  and  sound  solution  of  the  slavery 
question,  upon  which  the  great  national  idea  of  the  peo 
ple  of  the  whole  country  can  repose  in  its  determined 
conservatism  of  the  Union — non-interference  by  Congress 
with  slavery  in  State  or  Territory  or  in  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

"That  in  the  harmony  and  union  of  the  Democratic 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVliKl'sOR.  207 

party  consists  the  strongest  bond    of  union  among  the 
several  States. 

"  That,  adhering  to  and  being  determined  to  stand  by 
the  well  considered  declaration  of  principles  contained  in 
the  Cincinnati  platform,  as  expounded  by  President  Bu 
chanan  in  his  letter  of  acceptance,  we  affirm  that  it  is  the 
unquestionable  right  of  '  the  people  of  a  Territory,  like 
those  of  a  State,  to  determine  for  themselves  whether 
slavery  shall  or  shall  not  exist  within  their  limits.' 

"  That  it  is  a  slander  upon  the  Democratic  party  both 
North  and  South,  made  by  the  Opposition,  when  they 
charge  them  with  being  in  favor  of  re-opening  the  African 
slave  trade." 

The  proceedings  of  this  convention  have  perhaps  been 
given  at  unnecessary  length  ;  but  to  one  who  is  familiar 
with  the  men  of  that  day  and  with  their  subsequent  careers 
of  success  or  failure,  the  subject  has  a  powerful  fascination. 
The  ill-printed  newspaper  reports  are  instinct  with  life, 
and  from  the  rambling  details  and  skeleton  lists  of  names 
and  figures,  flashing  eyes  and  thrilling  voices  seem  to 
look  and  speak.  It  is  a  grateful  task  to  call  back  to  the 
light  for  even  a  fleeting  instant  some  of  the  giants  of  those 
days. 

The  Republican  State  Convention  met  on  the  22d  of 
February,  and  with  no  less  enthusiasm  and  far  greater 
harmony  than  were  displayed  by  the  Democratic  gath 
ering,  nominated  as  their  standard  bearers  two  of  the 
great  men  of  Indiana:  for  Governor,  Henry  S.  Lane,  a 
soldier  of  the  Mexican  War,  a  pure  patriot  and  peerless 
orator ;  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  a 
great  intellect  and  powerful  will.  The  resolutions  adopted 
were  briefer  and  better  drawn  than  those  of  the  Democ 
racy.  The  expression  upon  slavery,  though  in  effect  sub 
stantially  the  same  as  that  of  the  Democratic  platform, 
yet  with  the  disingenuousness  of  party  tactics  attributed 


208 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 


to  the  entire  Democracy  the  doctrine  emphatically  dis 
claimed  and  in  terms  condemned  by  the  great  mass  of 
that  party.  This  expression  was  as  follows  : 

66  That  we  are  opposed  to  the  new  and  dangerous  doc 
trine  advocated  by  the  Democratic  party,  that  the  Fed 
eral  Constitution  carries  slavery  into  the  public  Territo 
ries  ;  that  we  believe  slavery  can  not  exist  anywhere  in 
this  Government  unless  by  positive  local  law,  and  that  we 
will  oppose  its  extension  into  the  Territories  of  the  Fed 
eral  Government  by  all  the  power  known  to  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States." 

This  Convention  exhibited  the  able  management  of  the 
leaders  and  the  excellent  discipline  of  the  rank  and  file 
which  have  characterized  the  Republican  party  throughout 
its  subsequent  history,  contributing  largely  to  its  victories 
over  the  less  subservient,  more  independent  ranks  of  the 
Democracy. 

Events  flew  upon  swift  wings.  The  fatal  year  rapidly 
arrayed  all  the  elements  of  discord  within  the  country  for 
the  irrepressible  conflict  approaching. 

The  parties  in  Indiana  did  not  wait  for  the  national  or 
ganization    to  take   action,  but  in  the    earliest  days    of 
spring  opened,  the  canvass  with  the  determination  to  con 
test  every  inch  of  the  State.     Colonel  Lane  announced 
appointments  for  speeches  on  every  day  except  Sundays 
from  April   i;th  to  May  5th,  beginning  at  Jeffersonville 
and  following   down  the  Ohio  to   Mt.  Vernon   in  Posey 
county,  and  thence  up  the  Wabash  valley  to  Sullivan, 
sixteen  points  in  all ;  and  by  mutual  understanding  it  was 
arranged  that  Mr.  Hendricks  should  "  be  present  and  par 
ticipate  in  the  discussions."    Mr.  Hendricks  was  on  hand. 
The  two   distinguished   antagonists  made  their  progress 
together    from    place    to    place,    and    were    everywhere 
greeted  by  immense   crowds.     Both  being  men   of  high 
breeding    and   of  unusual   sweetness   of  character,  they 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  209 

easily  maintained  the  most  cordial  personal  relations,  and 
carried  away  from  their  repeated  contests  an  increased 
mutual  regard  and  respect,  which  lasted  through  their 
lives.  Their  styles  of  speaking  were  very  different. 
Lane  was  more  the  orator,  Hendricks  more  the  logician. 
Lane  was  fluent,  fervid,  fiery,  abounding  in  anecdote  and 
illustration,  a  master  of  laughter  and  of  tears,  easily  stirring 
to  rage  or  rousing  to  enthusiasm.  Hendricks  was  argu 
mentative  and  persuasive,  with  a  spice  of  genial  sarcasm, 
fortifying  his  positions  by  reference  to  fundamental  laws 
and  established  institutions,  and  expressing  himself  with 
an  elegance  and  simplicity  that  were  very  attractive  and 
always  intelligible.  The  following  comments  from  pa 
pers  of  opposite  politics  seem  just  to  both  speakers  : 

"  It  gives  us  pleasure  to  note  the  fair  and  gentlemanly 
manner  in  which  the  discussions  are  conducted.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise,  for  Colonel  Lane  is  honorable 
and  chivalrous  no  less  than  Hendricks  is  courteous  and 
candid." — New  Albany  Ledger  (Dem.). 

"•  The  debate  closed  at  midnight.  It  was  conducted  in 
admirable  temper,  and  the  competitors  proved  themselves 
able  champions  of  their  respective  causes.  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  surprised  his  friends  by  his  readiness  and  general 
compactness.  He  understands  how  to  make  a  strong 
point,  and  seems  an  adept  in  the  art  of  leaving  unsaid 
what  should  not  be  said.  Colonel  Lane  has  a  hearty 
manner  and  an  original  mode  of  putting  his  case,  to 
gether  with  a  fund  of  humor  and  information." — Cincin- . 
nati  Commercial  (f?ep.). 

After  the  Ohio  River  tour,  Colonel  Lane  took  a  well- 
earned  holiday  to  attend  the  Chicago  Convention  (May 
1 6th),  and  then  returned  to  renew  the  contest  with  in 
creased  enthusiasm,  in  joint  debate  at  Fort  Wayne  and 
nine  other  points  in  northeastern  Indiana,  from  May  2pth 
to  June  8th.  When  all  the  appointments  agreed  upon 
14 


210  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

had  been  filled,  Mr.  Hendricks  desired  to  continue  the 
joint  canvass  ;  but  this  Colonel  Lane  declined,  and  for  the 
remainder  of  the  campaign  the  candidates  for  Governor 
held  separate  meetings.  During  this  joint  debate  the 
Democratic  papers  claimed  that  Colonel  Lane  was  every 
where  vanquished  in  argument,  a  claim  which  the  Oppos 
ition  press  of  course  did  not  admit.  But  Mr.  Woollen's 
estimate  is  doubtless  correct  where,  speaking  of  Lane's 
refusal  to  extend  the  canvass,  he  says  :  "  In  this  he  acted 
wisely ;  for  while  he  was  Mr.  Hendricks's  superior  as  a 
popular  orator,  he  was  not  his  equal  as  a  debater."  The 
difference  seems  to  have  been  that  the  one  spoke  to  the 
understanding  and  convinced,  the  other  spoke  to  the 
feelings  and  won.  And  this  was  about  the  difference  be 
tween  the  motive  powers  of  the  two  parties ;  the  Demo 
crats  had  the  logic  of  the  position,  but  the  Republicans 
had  the  sympathies  of  mankind. 

In  June  and  July  Judge  Morton  and  Judge  Turpie,  the 
rival  candidates  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  also  held  joint 
debates,  before  large  crowds  in  the  central  part  of  the 
State.  Referring  to  this  extraordinary  canvass  Mr. 
Woollen  remarks  :  "  It  is  questionable  if  four  men  of  equal 
ability  were  ever  pitted  against  each  other  as  candidates 
for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  in  Indiana." 

The  national  nominations  of  this  year  stimulated  the 
the  zeal  of  men  of  all  parties  and  intensified  the  politi 
cal  struggle  beyond  anything  that  had  been  known  in 
the  country  before.  The  power  of  the  Democracy  was 
on  the  wane.  The  division  in  its  ranks  weakened  its 
State  candidates,  while  their  opponents  were  proportion 
ately  strengthened  by  the  united  front  of  the  Republican 
party  and  its  more  positive  declarations  against  slavery 
extension.  Indiana,  in  October,  showed  the  force  of  the 
on-coming  wave  by  a  majority  of  9,757  for  Lane.  Mor 
ton's  majority  over  Turpie  was  10,178,  and  the  General 
Assembly  elected  was  Republican  in  both  branches.  In 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  211 

November  the  majority  of  Lincoln  over  Douglas  was 
23,847.  These  figures  show  that  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
many  thousand  votes  stronger  in  the  State  than  his  party 
ticket. 

In  the  stormy  scenes  of  the  Charleston  Convention 
(April  23  to  May  4)  the  Indiana  delegation,  twenty-six 
strong,  headed  by  Huntington,  Lowry,  Buskirk,  Dun 
ning  and  Foley,  and  accompanied  by  Bright,  Walker, 
Dunham,  Richard  J.  Ryan  and  many  others,  bore  itself 
with  honor,  and  voted  steadily  for  Douglas  throughout 
all  the  three  days  balloting.  In  the  adjourned  conven 
tion  at  Baltimore  (June  18-22),  Indiana  stood  firmly  by 
the  organization.  The  original  delegates  from  Alabama, 
Arkansas,  Florida, Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  South 
Carolina  and  Texas,  who  had  bolted  at  Charleston,  were 
now  excluded  by  the  committee  on  credentials.  Those 
from  Virginia,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North 
Carolina,  California  and  Oregon  withdrew,  and  were  fol 
lowed  before  the  balloting  began  by  six  delegates  from 
Massachusetts,  led  by  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  who,  it  will 
be  remembered,  had  voted  at  Charleston  fifty- four  times 
to  nominate  Jefferson  Davis  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  What  remained  of  the  regular  convention  nomi 
nated  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  President,  and  Benjamin 
Fitzpatrick — afterward  replaced  by  Herschel  V.  John 
son — for  Vice  President.  Of  the  sixteen  States  that  had 
formally  withdrawn,  seven — Maryland,  Massachusetts, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky — were  still  represented  by  a  remnant  of  their 
delegations  ;  and  two — Alabama  and  Louisiana — were 
represented  by  newly  chosen  delegates.  If  those  who 
remained  are  counted  as  casting  the  full  vote  of  their 
States,  then  Mr.  Douglas  received  the  support  in  the 
Convention  of  all  but  seven  States  ;  if,  however,  they  must 
be  recorded  as  voting  merely  as  individuals,  then  his 
nomination  was  made  by  i8i£  votes  against  9^.  In  either 


212  CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR. 

case  he  was  manifestly  the  choice  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  regular  Democracy. 

The  seceders  organized  the  same  day  (June  i8th)  in 
another  hall,  and  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge  and 
Joseph  Lane,  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  103  delegates, 
claiming  to  represent  twenty  States.*  A  third  Presiden 
tial  ticket  was  already  in  the  field — John  Bell  and  Edward 
Everett,  nominated  at  Baltimore  May  pth,  by  the  Con 
vention  of  the  "Constitutional  Union  Party. '' 

The  Democrats  of  Indiana  were  overwhelmingly  for 
Douglas  ;  but  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  Jesse  D.  Bright, 
"  as  true  to  his  friends  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  as 
inexorable  to  his  enemies  as  death  itself,"  would  not 
yield  without  a  last  struggle.  He  assembled  a  State  Con 
vention,  which  nominated  a  Breckinridge  electoral  ticket. 
To  advocate  the  interests  of  this  ticket  he  established  a 
weekly  newspaper  at  Indianapolis,  The  Old  Line  Guard, 
and  himself  "  stumped"  the  State  in  its  behalf,  excusing 
himself  for  breaking  with  the  organization  in  these 
words:  "Yes,  the  State  Convention  did  instruct  for 
Douglas,  but  Hendricks  and  McDonald,  Hammond  and 
Dunham  consented  to  those  instructions  without  consult 
ing  me."  Through  the  campaign  he  received  generous 
Republican  sympathy  and  aid,  Republican  editors  print 
ing  the  voting  tickets  and  announcements  gratuitously. 

*  In  his  subtle  and  plausible  book  on  his  own  administration,  Mr. 
Buchanan  seems  to  display  a  rich  vein  of  humor.  He  invariably 
alludes  to  the  Breckinridge  men  as  the  "  Old  Democracy,"  and  to  the 
Democrats  of  '60  as  the  "  New  Democracy."  His  Old  Democracy  was 
largely  made  up  of  men  who  had  belonged  to  the  party  from  four  to 
eight  years.  Their  political  principles  and  demands  related  to  such 
unheard  of  innovations  as  the  re-opening  of  the  African  slave  trade, 
a  Congressional  slave  code,  the  utter  disavowal  of  popular  sovereignty, 
etc.  His  New  Democracy  was  made  up  of  life-long  Democrats,  who  de 
manded  the  re-enactment  of  the  old  platform  without  the  change  of  a 
letter.  However,  as  in  the  case  of  Senator  Bright's  Old  Line  Guard,  the 
humor  is  not  intended.  • 


CANDIDATE    FOR    GOVERNOR.  213 

But  his  efforts  were  only  more  futile  than  those  for  the 
regular  ticket,  and  the  count  of  the  votes  in  Indiana 
showed  the  following  result  : 

For  Lincoln 139,013. 

For  Douglas 115,166. 

For  Breckinridge 12,295. 

For  Bell 5)339- 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    DEMOCRATIC    PARTY   AND    THE    WAR    OF    SECESSION. 

— "  Old,  unhappy,  far  off  things, 
And  battles  long  ago." 

The  foregoing  pages  have  related  in  some  detail  the 
incidents  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  conflict,  which  was  the 
culmination  of  the  forty  years'  parliamentary  contest  that 
preceded  the  civil  war.  A  summary  review  of  that  con 
test  from  the  beginning,  with  a  statement  of  the  position  of 
the  Democracy  at  each  stage  of  its  progress,  is  essential 
at  this  point  to  an  appreciation  of  the  position  of  the  party 
throughout  the  conflict  of  arms. 

The  course  of  events,  as  inevitable  as  the  tread  of  des 
tiny,  had  bound  upon  the  neck  of  the  South  the  yoke  of 
slavery;  and  the  weight  of  that  yoke,  light  at  first,  had 
gradually  increased  till  no  peaceful  force  could  lift  it. 
The  record  of  these  events,  as  given  in  the  pages  of  the 
philosophical  historian,  is  in  the  highest  degree  instruc 
tive,  as  showing  how  an  intelligent  and  humane  people 
may  be  warped  by  self  interest  and  a  false  idea  into  a 
condition  of  mind  and  feeling  antagonistic  to  modern  pro 
gress  and  at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Through 
the  influence  of  slavery,  a  people  of  Anglo-Saxon  blood 
had  become  Orientalized ;  in  the  I9th  century  they  lived 
in  an  atmosphere  of  Mediasvalism ;  in  the  heart  of 
America  they  cherished  the  institutions  and  ideals  of 
Asia. 

In  the  early  decades  of  the  Republic  the  institution  of 

(214) 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         215 

slavery  had  no  influence  upon  political  parties.  It  was 
prohibited  in  the  Northwest  Territory  in  1784,  with  but 
little  opposition.  It  existed  in  1790  in  all  the  States  ex 
cept  Massachusetts,  where  it  had  recently  died  of  inani 
tion,  upon  a  judicial  decision  and  without  legislative  ac 
tion.  In  the  eight  Northern  States  there  were  less  than 
fifty  thousand  slaves,  while  in  the  five  Southern  States 
there  were  more  than  half  a  million  ;  and  indications  of 
a  tendency  to  divide  upon  this  issue  may  have  been  dimly 
apparent  to  the  prescience  of  Washington  when  he  uttered 
his  impressive  warnings  against  sectionalism.  Yet  the 
leading  minds  of  the  South  shared  with  those  of  the  North 
the  belief  that  slavery  was  an  evil  to  be  abated ;  and  in 
framing  the  Federal  Constitution,  men  from  all  the  States 
joined  in  preparing  the  way  for  a  suppression  of  the 
African  slave  trade,  in  the  belief,  doubtless,  that  slavery 
itself  would  not  long  survive  when  that  soui  ce  of  the  sup 
ply  should  be  cut  off.  The  conscience  of  the  South  was 
not  at  ease  as  to  the  righteousness  of  the  institution,  and 
many  Southerners  at  that  day  would  easily  have  consented 
to  gradual  emancipation.  But  circumstances  entirely 
unconnected  with  politics  soon  produced  a  complete  rev 
olution  of  sentiment. 

The  invention  of  improved  machinery  for  cotton  spin 
ning,  and  the  enormous  development  of  that  industry  in 
England,  created  an  immense  demand  for  the  raw  mate 
rial.  Eli  Whitney's  gin,  by  enabling  the  planter  to  turn  the 
expensive  hand  labor  of  his  slaves  from  the  tedious  pro 
cess  of  extracting  the  seed  to  the  production  of  the  plant, 
made  it  possible  to  supply  that  demand  with  profit.  The 
soil  of  the  South  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  culture, 
and  that  section  rapidly  became  the  cotton  garden  of  the 
world,  supplying  at  one  time  seven-eighths  of  the  total 
amount  produced.  The  expansion  was  immense.  In 
1790  no  cotton  was  exported  ;  in  1860  the  export  reached 
2,000  millions  of  pounds. 


216        DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

This  great  development  of  the  cotton  trade  and  culture- 
made  slave  labor  profitable,  created  an  urgent  demand 
for  slaves,  and  raised  their  value  proportionately.  In 
1790  an  able-bodied  slave  could  be  bought  for  a 
trifle;  in  1860  he  was  worth  $1,500.  The  slave  pop 
ulation  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  demand  for  labor, 
though  in  the  cotton  States  it  increased  nearly  eightfold 
in  fifty  years.  The  increase  in  the  other  Slave  States 
was  less  than  70  per  cent.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  growth 
of  slavery  was  everywhere  in  proportion  to  the  profit  of 
slave  labor.  In  New  England  it  was  unprofitable  and 
died  out ;  in  the  Middle  States  where  grain  and  tobacco- 
yielded  but  moderate  returns,  its  growth  was  small ;  in 
the  cotton  States,  where  the  profits  of  the  crop  had  be 
come  so  enormous,  the  number  of  slaves  had,  by  natural 
increase  and  a  constant  drain  upon  the  Middle  States,, 
grown  773  per  cent.,  and  yet  fell  short  of  the  demand. 

These  varying  conditions  in  the  different  sections  of 
the  country  promoted  opposite  views  as  to  the  rightfulness- 
of  slavery.  Among  those  who  were  removed  from  its 
influence  and  without  participation  in  its  profits,  the  be 
lief  in  its  immorality,  which  was  almost  general  at  the 
formation  of  the  Constitution,  gained  ground.  The  Ab 
olition  Society,  founded  in  Philadelphia  in  1774,  was  fol 
lowed  in  1832  by  the  New  England  Anti- Slavery  Society  ; 
and  the  agitation  rapidly  spread  throughout  the  North. 
For  a  short  time  the  South  also  was  affected,  and  even  Vir 
ginia  thought  of  emancipation  and  colonization.  Meas 
ures  for  these  ends  failing  in  her  Legislature,  many  of 
her  citizens  liberated  their  slaves  and  aided  them  to  set 
tle  in  Liberia  or  the  North,  while  some  even  migrated 
themselves  to  the  free  States,  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  removing  their  children  from  the  evil  influences  of  a 
slave  community.  But  the  vast  material  interests  of  the 
South  outweighed  the  promptings  of  philanthropy,  and 
speedily  united  that  section  in  determined  opposition. 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OP'  SECESSION.         217 

Their  interests  being,  as  they  supposed,  so  dependent 
on  slavery,  the  people  of  the  South  quieted  the  remon- 
stances  of  conscience  by  appeals  to  antiquity  and  the 
scriptures,  and  by  contemplation  of  the  improved  condi 
tion  of  the  African  when  brought  to  this  country  and 
Christianized.  "  Whenever  States  have  come  to  great 
ness,"  reported  the  committee  of  a  convention  at  Mont 
gomery  in  1858,  "  they  have  exhibited  the  condition  of 
unequal  classes.  There  were  citizens  and  slaves  in 
Greece,  patricians  and  plebeians  in  Rome,  peers  and  vil 
leins  in  England,  nobles  and  peasants  in  Central  Europe  ; 
and  generally,  wherever  there  has  been  social  progress 
and  power  there  has  been  articulation,  a  ruling  and  a 
a  subject  class,  if  not  a  ruling  and  subject  race — an 
artificial,  if  not  a  natural  dualism."  "  I  tell  you,"  de 
claimed  a  Georgia  delegate  in  the  Charleston  Conven 
tion,  "  that  the  African  slave  trader  is  the  true  Union 
man ;  I  tell  you  that  the  slave  trader  of  Virginia  is 
more  immoral,  more  unchristian  in  every  possible  view 
than  that  African  slave  trader  who  goes  to  Africa  and 
brings  a  heathen  and  worthless  man  here,  making  him  a 
useful  man,  Christianizing  him,  and  sending  him  and  his 
posterity  down  the  stream  of  time  to  enjoy  the  blessings 
of  civilization.  *  *  I  represent  the  African  slave  trade 
interest.  I  am  proud  of  the  position  I  occupy  in  that  re 
spect.  I  believe  that  the  African  slave  trader  is  a  true 
missionary  and  true  Christian." 

Moreover,  the  hot  climate  of  the  South  produced  its 
usual  effect — the  indisposition  to  physical  exertion  which 
leads  men  who  have  the  power  to  exact  labor  from  others. 
These  specious  arguments  and  overpowering  influences- 
produced  an  intellectual  atmosphere  in  which  slavery 
seemed  not  only  lawful,  but  the  greatest  of  social  bless 
ings,  alike  profitable  to  the  master  and  beneficent  to  the 
slave. 

"  Slavery,"  said  the  report  of  a   legislative    commit- 


218        DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

tee,  "is  cherished  by  our  constituents  as  the  very  pala- 
dium  of  their  prosperity  and  happiness ;  and  whatever 
ignorant  fanatics  may  elsewhere  conjecture,  the  com 
mittee  are  fully  assured,  upon  the  most  diligent  observa 
tion  and  reflection  on  the  subject,  that  the  South  does  not 
possess  within  her  limits  a  blessing  with  which  the  affec 
tions  of  her  people  are  so  closely  entwined  and  so  com 
pletely  enfibred." 

Thus  upon  this  vital  question  the  two  sections,  the 
North  and  the  South,  drew  gradually  farther  apart  till 
they  finally  reached  conditions  of  mind  in  which  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  understand  each  other,  and  stood 
arrayed  as  geographical  parties  in  irreconcilable  antag 
onism. 

Throughout  the  period  of  this  growing  alienation  the 
Democratic  party  was  the  mediator,  standing  as  the  na 
tional  union  party  for  peace  and  an  undivided  country. 
As  the  influence  of  the  fatal  institution  was  manifested, 
splitting  churches  and  parties  asunder,  and  arraying  the 
sections  of  the  country  in  hostile  camps;  the  Democracy 
strove  to  effect  compromises,  to  remove  causes  of  dispute, 
to  reconcile  conflicting  interests.  Not  till  the  party  was 
itself  rent  in  twain,  did  the  separation  of  the  sections 
occur. 

The  struggle  between  the  North  and  South  exhibits,  it 
has  been  remarked,  two  phases;  first,  a  parliamentary 
contest  in  the  Congress  ;  second,  war.  The  chief  incidents 
of  the  former  phase  were  the  Missouri  Compromise,  Nul 
lification,  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  Kansas-Ne 
braska  conflict. 

Upon  the  application  of  Missouri  for  admission  into  the 
Union,  it  was  proposed  that  slavery  be  prohibited  in  the 
new  State.  This  was  the  first  attack  upon  the  institution 
in  the  Congress  of  the  nation,  and  it  at  once  arrayed  the 
members  from  the  North  and  the  South  in  vigorous  strife. 
A  settlement  was  effected  in  the  Missouri  Compromise, 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         2J9 

.arranged  by  Henry  Clay,  which  provided  that  Missouri 
should  be  admitted  as  a  slave  State,  but  that  slavery 
should  be  prohibited  in  the  rest  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
north  of  lat.  36°  30'.  This  occurred  in  i82OJ-2i,  the  very 
midst  of  the  "  Era  of  Good  Feeling."  Of  its  political  sig 
nificance,  Mr.  Jefferson's  opinion  was  probably  correct 
when  he  said, — "  The  question  is  a  mere  party  trick.  The 
leaders  of  Federalism  are  taking  advantage  of  the  virtu 
ous  feeling  of  the  people  to  effect  a  division  of  parties  by 
a  geographical  line  ;  they  expect  that  this  will  insure  them 
on  local  principles  the  majority  they  could  never  obtain 
on  the  principles  of  Federalism."  The  Federalist  party, 
beaten  before  the  people  on  its  doctrine  of  centralization, 
its  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  its  opposition  to  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  and  its  hints  of  secession  in  the  Hartford 
Convention,  had  entirely  disappeared  in  Monroe's  first 
term.  But  its  leaders,  restless  and  ambitious,  sought  for 
new  issues,  and  attacked  their  adversary  in  the  weakest 
spot.  To  restrain  and  finally  to  destroy  slavery  was  the 
idea  evolved,  and  it  gained  irresistible  strength  as  the 
years  rolled  on.  Now  began  the  struggle  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  maintain  the  paradoxical  position  of  shel 
tering  human  bondage  while  proclaiming  the  equality  of 
man ;  and  to  preserve  concord  between  the  Abolitionist 
of  the  North  and  the  slaveholder  of  the  South. 

The  tariff  upon  imports,  first  imposed  with  a  view  of 
creating  a  market  for  cotton  within  the  country,  was  a 
Southern  measure  enacted  in  opposition  to  the  views  and 
wishes  of  the  North.  Its  unexpected  operation,  in  stim 
ulating  manufactures  at  the  expense  of  agriculture  and 
enhancing  the  value  of  machine  above  hand  labor,  pro 
duced  a  complete  interchange  of  position  between  the 
two  sections,  exemplified  in  the  changed  attitudes  of  Cal- 
houn  and  Webster.  Here  the  Democracy  took  the  side 
of  the  South  and  advocated  a  reduction  of  duties,  though 
the  specific  measure  of  relief,  the  Compromise  Tariff  of 


220        DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

1833,  was  arranged  by  the  great  compromiser,  Henry 
Clay,  now  a  leader  of  the  Whigs.  In  this  position  the 
party  was  influenced  as  much  by  the  scientific  truth  of 
the  free-trade  doctrine  as  by  solicitude  for  Southern  in 
terests.  But  upon  the  proposition  of  South  Carolina  to 
nullify  the  tariff  laws  of  the  Congress,  the  united  Democ 
racy  spoke  in  no  uncertain  terms  by  the  mouth  of  Andrew 
Jackson  :  "  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  forms 
a  government,  not  a  league.  It  is  a  government  in  which 
the  people  are  represented  ;  which  operates  directly  upon 
the  people  individually,  not  upon  the  States."  The 
tariff  had  proved  injurious  to  the  labor  system  of 
the  South ;  nullification  was  a  retaliatory  blow  at  the 
labor  system  of  the  North.  The  one  was  partially 
abated  by  the  compromise  measure  of  the  Congress  ;  the 
other  was  vigorously  suppressed  by  the  strong  hand  of 
the  President.  These  controversies  separated  from  the 
Democratic  party,  upon  entirely  opposite  grounds,  two 
very  different  elements — the  protectionists  and  the  nulli- 
fiers,  whom  a  common  hostility  to  Jackson  drew  together 
into  an  incongruous  fellowship  as  Whigs. 

The  vast  acquisitions  of  territory  heretofore  made  by 
Democratic  administrations,  the  Louisiana  Purchase  and 
the  Florida  Cession — a  magnificent  domain,  far  exceeding 
in  size  the  original  thirteen  States — are  not  in  any  way 
chargeable  to  the  spirit  of  slavery  propagandism  ;  nor 
was  the  opposition  encountered  by  these  measures  and 
by  the  subsequent  formation  of  States  from  the  new  ter 
ritory  inspired  so  much  by  objection  to  slavery  as  by 
jealousy  of  Southwestern  aggrandisement.  But  the  Mis 
souri  controversy  aroused  the  North  and  'alarmed  the 
South  ;  and  in  proportion  as  the  former  grew  determined 
to  check  the  spread  of  slavery,  the  latter  became  intoler 
ant  of  opposition.  She  realized  the  danger  of  the  situa 
tion,  perceiving  that  if  Northern  sentiment  should  become 
consolidated  against  slavery,  she  must  secure  increased 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         221 

representation  in  Congress  to  preserve  its  existence.  A 
greater  number  of  slaves  would,  through  the  rule  of 
three-fifths  representation,  give  her  more  members  of  the 
House  ;  their  disfusion  through  new  States  would  give 
her  more  Senators.  The  life  of  the  institution  was  seen 
to  depend  on  its  extension,  but  the  Missouri  Compromise 
line  had  cut  off  the  possibility  of  this  in  the  territory 
then  belonging  to  the  nation. 

The  crisis  had  come.  "  Let  one  more  Northern  State 
be  added,"  said  Mr.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  "  and  the  equilibrium  is  gone,  gone  for 
ever.  The  balance  of  interest  is  gone,  the  safeguard  of 
American  prosperity,  of  the  American  Constitution,  of 
the  American  Union,  vanished  into  thin  air.  This  must 
be  the  inevitable  result  unless  by  a  treaty  with  Mexico 
the  South  can  add  more  weight  to  her  end  of  the  lever. 
Let  the  South  stop  at  the  Sabine  while  the  North  may 
spread  unchecked  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the 
Southern  scale  must  kick  the  beam." 

The  Texan  revolt  and  war  for  independence,  having 
been  brought  about  by  settlers  from  the  States,  received 
very  general  sympathy  throughout  the  country,  but  was 
hailed  with  delight  by  the  South,  as  likely  to  give  her  a 
new  field  for  the  growth  of  her  cherished  system.  "  The 
South  has  very  peculiar  institutions  to  preserve,  already 
violently  assailed  and  boldly  threatened,"  reported  a 
committee  of  the  Mississippi  Legislature,  and  "  your 
committee  are  fully  persuaded  that  this  protection  to  her 
best  interests  will  be  afforded  by  the  annexation  of  Texas  ; 
an  equipoise  of  influence  in  the  halls  of  Congress  will  be 
secured,  which  will  furnish  us  with  a  permanent  guarantee 
of  protection." 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  the  interest  in  Texan 
affairs  was  confined  to  the  South,  or  was  inspired  exclu 
sively  by  the  desire  for  an  extension  of  slavery.  There 
was  no  taint  of  this  motive  in  the  hearts  of  the  men  who 


222        DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

followed  Franklin  Pierce  from  the  White  Mountains  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  Henry  S.  Lane  from  the  woods- 
and  prairies  of  Indiana,  to  vindicate  against  Mexico  our 
right  to  the  realm  acquired.  The  reclamation  of  a  terri 
tory  once  ours,  the  extension  of  our  empire  to  the  Pacific, 
the  glory  of  the  Republic,  excited  enthusiasm  everywhere. 

But  the  outspoken  demand  of  the  South  awakened  con 
siderable  resistance  in  the  North,  and  John  Quincy  Adams 
and  other  Whig  Congressmen  declared  in  an  address  : 
"  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  annexation  effected  by  any 
act  or  proceeding  of  the  Federal  government  or  any  of  its 
Departments  would  be  identical  with  dissolution.  It  would 
be  a  violation  of  our  national  compact  of  a  character  so 
deep  and  fundamental,  and  would  be  an  attempt  to  eter 
nize  an  institution  and  a  power  so  unjust  in  themselves 
and  so  abhorrent  to  the  feelings  of  the  free  States  as,  in 
our  opinion,  not  only  inevitably  to  result  in  a  dissolution 
of  the  Union,  but  fully  to  justify  it."  Thus  was  repeated 
the  Northern  threat  of  disunion,  first  heard  from  Josiah 
Quincy  in  1811,  then  murmured  timorously  in  the  Hart 
ford  Convention,  but  destined  to  be  proclaimed  with 
louder  menace  till  1860. 

The  Northern  Democracy  was  not  a  unit  on  the  ques 
tion  of  annexation.  Ex-President  Van  Buren,  their 
leading  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  openly  opposed  it. 
But  this  opposition  cost  him  the  nomination.  Through 
the  influence  of  the  South  in  the  party  councils,  the  "  two- 
thirds  rule"  being  followed  in  the  Baltimore  Convention 
of  1844,  James  K.  Polk  was  nominated  on  a  "plat 
form  "  demanding  "  the  reoccupation  of  Oregon  and  the 
reannexation  of  Texas  at  the  earliest  possible  period." 
Mr.  Clay,  the  Whig  candidate,  had  satisfied  neither  side 
as  to  his  position ;  his  objection  to  annexation  offended 
the  one,  his  not  objecting  to  slavery  displeased  the  other. 
Polk's  nomination  and  election  were  each  a  triumph  of 
the  aggressive  policy  of  the  annexationists  over  the 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         223 

passive  or  evasive  tactics  of  their  opposers  ;  and  the  set 
tlement  of  the  Oregon  dispute  and  the  annexation  of 
Texas  were  effected  as  a  result  of  that  election. 

The  Omnibus  Bill  of  1850,  Henry  Clay's  last  contri 
bution  toward  compromising  differences  between  the 
North  and  the  South,  abolished  the  slave  trade  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  but  contained  the  Fugitive  Slave 
law,  which  in  its  harsh  provisions  became  a  pernicious 
source  of  irritation  to  the  entire  country.  Yet  for  the  next 
ten  years  this  bill  as  a  whole  was  invoked  by  the  Dem 
ocracy,  in  the  interest  of  peace  and  unity,  as  the  best 
possible  settlement  of  existing  difficulties. 

The  bill  to  organize  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Ne 
braska,  introduced  by  Senator  Douglas  in  December, 
1853,  was  not  designed  to  affect  the  slavery  question. 
The  amendment  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise  and 
permitting  slaves  beyond  the  barrier  established  for  a  third 
of  a  century,  was  proposed  by  a  Whig — Senator  Dixon 
of  Kentucky — and  accepted  with  reluctance  by  the  author 
of  the  bill.  But  he  became  reconciled  to  this  feature 
through  its  accord  with  the  fundamental  idea  of  our  civil 
liberties — local  self-government.  It  is  the  right  of  the 
members  of  every  community  which  constitutes  a  govern 
mental  organization,  to  determine  for  themselves  their 
domestic  institutions  and  local  laws.  Slavery  being 
authorized  by  the  laws  of  many  States  and  not  prohibited 
by  the  Federal  Constitution,  each  new  Territory  and  still 
more  each  new  State  should  be  permitted  to  choose  .or 
reject  it,  as  well  as  any  other  institution.  Douglas  be 
came  still  further  reconciled  to  the  amendment  from  the 
belief  that  its  practical  operation  would  secure  to  freedom 
all  the  territory  north  and  some  of  that  south  of  the  com 
promise  line,  while  at  the  same  time  all  reasonable  ground 
of  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  South  would  be  removed. 
Of  this  last  there  was  urgent  need.  The  discontent  of 


224        DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

that  section  was  growing  to  such  a  degree  that  disunion, 
even  war,  was  imminent ;  and  this  it  was  the  duty  of 
statesmen,  and  especially  of  those  in  power,  to  avert  by 
every  possible  means.  The  doctrine  of  popular  sov 
ereignty  was  the  promising  and  only  probable  means, 
since  it  seemed  to  afford  a  common  ground  upon  which 
both  sections  might  stand.  The  moderate  men  wel 
comed  it  as  the  preservation  of  the  Union  ;  the  extrem 
ists  are  responsible  for  its  failure.  The  Northern 
extremists  demanded  that  Congress  should  forever  pro 
hibit  slavery  in  the  Territories.  The  Southern  extrem 
ists  maintained  that  the  Constitution  by  its  own  vigor 
carried  slavery  into  the  Territories,  and  that  neither 
Congress  nor  a  Territorial  Legislature  could  prohibit  it. 
The  new  President,  Buchanan,  by  proclaiming  the  latter 
interpretation  with  subtlety  and  skill,  and  with  the  pres 
tige  of  his  reputation  as  a  Constitutional  jurist,  rallied 
back  into  the  Democratic  party  the  nullifiers  of  '32  and 
the  pro-slavery  Whigs,  to  remain  for  a  few  brief  years, 
till,  in  despair  of  leavening  the  whole  mass  with  their  per 
nicious  idea,  they  again  seceded  from  the  party  and  this 
time  from  the  Union  also.  Against  such  an  interpreta 
tion  Douglas  and  the  Northern  Dmocrats  protested  em 
phatically.  The  Territories  were  free,  and  popular 
sovereignty  meant  that  they  might  adopt  or  reject  the 
institution  of  slavery  by  positive  enactment. 

Defeated  in  their  efforts  to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State, 
and  hopeless  of  extending  the  institution  into  other  Ter 
ritories,  the  desperate  Southern  faction  demanded  from 
the  Charleston  Convention  of  1860  an  expression  in  favor 
of  a  Congressional  slave  code.  Failing  to  obtain  this, 
they  bolted  the  party  and  put  a  pro-slavery  ticket  in  the 
field. 

In  these  trying  times  the  devotion  to  what  seemed  the 
best  interests  of  the  Union,  displayed  by  Douglas  and  the 
true  Democracy,  was  nothing  short  of  sublime.  For  suf- 


DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         225 

ficient  concessions,  great  bribes  were  offered — to  the  former 
the  Presidency,  to  the  latter  an  indefinite  prolongation  of 
power.  Yielding  for  peace  and  union's  sake  as  far 
as  honor  would  permit,  they  then  stood  firm,  and  re 
signed  the  greatest  prizes  and  the  highest  hopes  of  states 
man  and  party. 

Their  final  trial  came  in  the  Charleston  Convention  of 
1860,  assembled  (April  23d)  to  nominate  candidates  for 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Here 
Douglas  was  the  candidate  of  the  Northern  men,  on  the 
doctrine  he  had  so  manfully  advocated — that  the  people 
of  a  Territory,  equally  with  those  of  a  State,  have  the  right 
to  exclude  slavery  from  their  borders.  By  that  doctrine 
Douglas  had  stood  unflinchingly,  so  far  even  as  to  refuse 
his  support  (in  1858)  to  the  English  bill,  which  many  of 
the  wisest  statesmen  had  deemed  a  prudent  compromise 
of  the  Kansas  difficulty.  And  now  his  followers  stoutly 
refused  to  yield  to  the  slaveholders'  demands,  beyond  the 
pledge  that,  in  regard  to  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the 
Territories,  "  the  Democratic  party  will  abide  by  the  de 
cisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  upon 
questions  of  constitutional  law."  A  resolution  looking 
toward  a  Congressional  slave  code  for  the  Territories 
they  would  not  on  any  terms  agree  to,  and  thereupon  be 
held  the  dissolution  of  the  Convention  and  the  disruption 
of  their  party.  All  this  they  consented  to  from  love  of  free 
dom  ;  and  later,  by  their  denunciations  of  secession,  their 
proclamation  of  an  indissoluble  Union,  and  their  rush 
forward  to  aid  in  suppressing  the  one  and  preserving  the 
other,  jfchey  rebuked  and  silenced  the  Abolition  disunion- 
ists  of  me  North,  and  nerved  the  arm  of  the  Government 
to  strike  down  the  pro-slavery  secessionists  of  the  South. 
After  the  civil  conflict  was  over  and  the  kindly  lapse  of 
time  permitted  men  to  see  with  clearer  vision,  this  tribute 
to  the  Democratic  party  was  uttered  by  a  Southern  states- 
15 


226         DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

man  and  soldier:  "The  South  loved  the  Constitution 
more  than  the  Union  ;  the  Republican  party  may  have 
loved  the  Union  more  than  the  Constitution  ;  but  it  is  writ 
ten  in  history  that  the  gallant  Democracy  of  the  North 
were  the  truest  patriots  of  the  land— they  loved  both  the 
Union  and  the  Constitution,  one  and  indivisible." 

The  disunion  sentiment  in  the  North,  above  referred 
to,  was  undoubtedly  a  potent  ally  to  Southern  secession, 
since  it  fostered  the  belief  that  separation  would  not  be 
opposed.  From  all  responsibility  for  that  sentiment  the 
Northern  Democracy  is  free.  No  true  Democratic  states- 
man,  politician,  orator,  convention  or  newspaper  ever, 
from  General  Jackson's  time  onward,  countenanced  or 
encouraged  the  idea  of  disunion,  or  uttered  anything 
other  than  denunciation  of  sectionalism  on  the  one  hand 
and  secession  on  the  other.  Their  pleadings  for  peace 
and  unity  were  unceasing,  their  fruitless  efforts  to  allay 
irritation  were  admirable  and  pathetic. 

The  Abolitionists,  on  the  contrary,  blinded  by  their 
sacred  rage  against  human  bondage,  would,  as  one  of 
their  eloquent  orators  declared,  "  rend  the  Union  to  de 
stroy  slavery,  though  hedged  round  by  the  triple  bars  of 
the  national  compact,  and  though  thirty-three  crowned 
sovereigns  with  arms  in  their  hands  stood  around  it." 

The  following  are  a  few  specimens  of  their  expressions 
in  the  press  or  in  public  speeches  or  resolutions: 

"We  hold  with  Jefferson  to  the  inalienable  right  of  com 
munities  to  alter  or  abolish  forms  of  government  that  have 
become  oppressive  or  injurious  ;  and  if  the  cotton  States 
shall  decide  that  they  can  do  better  out  of  the  Union  than 
in  it,  we  insist  on  letting  them  go  in  peace.  The  right 
to  secede  may  be  a  revolutionary  right,  but  exists  never 
theless  ;  and  we  do  not  see  how  one  party  can  have  a 
right  to  do  what  another  party  has  a  right  to  prevent. 
We  must  ever  resist  the  asserted  right  of  any  State  to  re 
main  in  the  Union  and  nullify  and  defy  the  laws  thereof ;. 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         227 

to  withdraw  from  the  Union  is  quite  another  matter.  And 
whenever  a  considerable  section  of  our  Union  shall  re 
solve  to  go  out,  we  shall  resist  all  coercive  measures  de 
signed  to  keep  her  in.  We  hope  never  to  live  in  a  re 
public  whereof  one  section  is  pinned  to  the  residue  by 
bayonets." — JVew  2'ork  Tribune,  Nov.  9,  1860. 

"I  have  only  to  add,  under  a  full  sense  of  responsibility 
to  my  country  and  to  my  God,  I  deliberately  say,  better 
disunion,  better  a  civil  or  servile  war,  better  anything 
that  God  in  his  providence  shall  send,  than  an  extension 
of  the  bounds  of  slavery." — Horace  Mann. 

"The  Republican  party  is  molding  public  sentiment 
in  the  right  direction  for  the  specific  work  the  Abolition 
ists  are  striving  to  accomplish,  viz.  :  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union,  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the 
land." — The  Liberator. 

"  There  is  a  merit  in  the  Republican  party.  It  is 
this  :  It  is  the  first  sectional  party  ever  organized  in  this 
country.  It  is  the  North  arrayed  against  the  South.  The 
first  crack  in  the  iceberg  is  visible  ;  you  will  yet  see  it  go 
with  a  crack  through  the  center." — Wendell  Phillies. 

"O,  if  the  South  would  only  go!  Sacrifice  anything 
to  keep  the  slave-holding  States  in  the  Union?  God  for 
bid  !  We  will  rather  build  them  a  bridge  of  gold  and 
pay  their  toll  over  it,  accompanying  them  out  with  glad 
noise  of  trumpets,  and  '  speed  the  parting  guest.'  Let 
them  not  stand  upon  the  order  of  their  going,  but  go  at 
once.  Let  them  take  the  forts,  empty  our  arsenals,  and 
we  will  lend  them  besides  jewels  of  gold  and  jewels  of 
silver,  and  Egypt  will  be  glad  when  they  are  departed. 
*  *  *  The  Union,  then,  is  a  failure.  *  *  *  All 
hail,  then,  disunion !  Beautiful  on  the  mountain  are  the 
feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth 
peace,  that  saith  unto  Zion,  '  Thy  God  reigneth.'  The 
sods  of  Bunker  Hill  will  be  greener,  now  that  their 


228         DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

great  purpose  is  accomplished.  Sleep  in  peace,  mar 
tyr  of  Harper's  Ferry !  Your  life  was  not  given  in 
vain." —  Wendell  Phillip. 

"Tear down  the  flaunting  lie; 

Half  mast  the  starry  flag ; 
Insult  no  sunny  sky 

With  hate's  polluted  rag." 

— New  York  Tribune. 

(Compare  the  above  with  this  Democratic  sentiment, 
uttered  as  a  toast  on  a  memorable  occasion :  "  Our  Fed 
eral  Union  :  it  must  be  preserved  !  " — Andrew  Jackson.) 

The  last  effort  of  the  Democracy  to  effect  a  pacification 
of  the  sections  was  made  through  the  proposal,  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  of  a  series  of  constitutional  amend 
ments  whereby  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  should  be 
restored  and  extended  to  the  border  of  California,  slavery 
to  be  prohibited  in  all  the  territory  north,  and  permitted 
in  all  the  territory  south  of  that  line,  till  the  formation  of 
a  new  State,  when  the  people  thereof  should  themselves 
pronounce  upon  the  institution  ;  whereby  Congress  should 
be  deprived  of  power  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  so  long  as  it  existed  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  ; 
and  whereby  the  Fugitive  Slave  law,  pronounced  con 
stitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court,  should  be  maintained 
and  its  execution  guaranteed. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  these  measures,  so  manifestly 
inadequate  in  the  light  of  after  events,  were  suggested  by 
the  purest  patriotism  and  the  most  ardent  desire  to  give 
peace  to  the  distracted  nation.  The  proposed  amend 
ments  were  offered  in  December  of  1860,  the  season 
memorable  for  efforts  at  reconciliation.  Their  author 
was  the  illustrious  Crittenden,  a  patriot  without  reproach, 
of  whom  the  eloquent  Cox,  in  his  eulogy  upon  Douglas, 
said  :  "  Kentucky  still  spares  to  us  one  of  kindred  patri 
otism,  fashioned  in  the  better  mould  of  an  earlier  day, 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         22$ 

the  distinguished  Statesman  who  has  just  spoken,  Mr. 
Crittenden,  whose  praise  of  Douglas  living  I  love  to 
quote,  and  whose  praise  of  Douglas  dead,  to  which  you 
have  just  listened,  laudari  a  viro  laudato*  is  praise  in 
deed."  JohnJ.  Crittenden,  a  veteran  of  the  War  of  1812* 
and  of  the  Mexican  War,  ex-Governor,  and  several 
times  Senator,  offered  this  plan  of  compromise,  and  spoke 
upon  it  in  such  burning  words  as  these :  "  I  wish  to  God 
it  were  in  my  power  to  preserve  this  Union  by  recognizing 
and  agreeing  to  give  up  every  conscientious  and  other 
opinion.  Are  you  bent  on  revolution,  bent  on  disunion? 
God  forbid  it !  I  can  not  believe  that  such  madness  pos 
sesses  the  American  peoplec  *  I  do  not  despair 
of  the  republic.  I  can  not  despond.  I  can  not  but  be 
lieve  that  we  will  find  some  means  of  reconciling  and 
adjusting  the  rights  of  all  parties, by  concession,  if  nec 
essary,  so  as  to  preserve  and  give  more  stability  to  the 
country  and  to  these  institutions." 

The  Crittenden  Compromise  was  advocated  by  the 
Democracy  in  the  Congress  and  throughout  the  nation. 
State  Legislatures  and  State  and  County  Conventions 
passed  resolutions  approving  it.  It  failed.  Whether  its 
adoption  would  have  delayed  the  irrepressible  conflict, 
it  is  now  vain  to  speculate.  In  view  of  the  destruction 
of  the  gigantic  evil  it  was  designed  to  regulate,  its  failure 
can  not  at  this  day  be  wondered  at  or  regretted. 

But  all  efforts  at  conciliation  were  fruitless,  and  seces 
sion  became  an  accomplished  fact.  Then,  to  fire  the 
Southern  heart,  the  storming  of  Fort  Sumter  was  pre 
cipitated.  This  produced  the  effect  desired  by  the  lead 
ers  in  the  South,  and  added  to  the  Confederate  column 
the  great  State  of  Virginia,  as  well  as  Arkansas,  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee.  But  the  same  event  roused  the 
North  to  a  high  pitch  of  excitement,  and  consolidated 
public  sentiment  in  support  of  war,  if  necessary,  to 
avenge  the  insult  to  the  national  flag  and  to  uphold  the 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

authority  of  the  Federal  Government.  The  day  after  the 
evacuation  of  the  fort  the  President  issued  (April  15, 
1861),  a  proclamation,  calling  upon  the  States  for  seven 
ty-five  thousand  militia,  "in  order  to  suppress  unlawful 
combinations,  and  to  cause  the  laws  to  be  duly  executed," 
and  summoning  the  Congress  to  meet  in  extra  session  on 
July  4th.  In  answer  to  the  call  for  troops  the  people, 
almost  with  one  accord  and  without  distinction  of  party, 
rose  up,  and  promptly  filled  the  President's  requisition, 
volunteers  enough  to  fill  it  many  times  over  offering 
themselves. 

No  man  in  the  Nation  was  more  zealous  for  the  Union 
than  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  He  had  attended  the  inaugura- 
ation  of  his  great  rival,  and  pledged  him  the  support  of 
his  party  and  himself  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Govern 
ment.  And  he  fulfilled  that  pledge  at  the  price  of  his 
life.  His  stirring  call  to  arms  was  heard  through  the 
length  of  the  land,  as  in  numerous  speeches  delivered 
with  little  rest  between  he  appealed  to  the  people  to 
sink  party  distinctions  and  fight  for  the  Union,  under 
command  of  the  President  lawfully  elected.  But  even 
the  sturdy  frame  of  "  the  Little  Giant "  was  not  equal  to 
the  demands  of  his  mighty  spirit,  and  Douglas  died  of 
sheer  exhaustion  June  3,  1861.  The  following  tribute  to 
this  great  man  is  from  the  pages  of  Arnold's  "Abraham 
Lincoln  "  : 

"On  the  i5th  of  April,  the  President  issued  his  procla 
mation  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  soldiers.  While 
he  was  considering  the  subject,  Douglas  called  and  ex 
pressed  his  approval,  regretting  only  that  it  was  not  for 
two  hundred  thousand  instead  of  seventy-five  thousand  ; 
and,  on  the  iSth  of  April,  Douglas  wrote  the  following 
dispatch,  and  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  agents  of  the 
associated  press,  to  be  sent  through  the  country  : 

"  'April  18,  1861,  Senator  Douglas  called  on  the  Presi 
dent,  and  had  an  interesting  conversation  on  the  present 


DEMOCRATIC  TARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         231 

condition  of  the  country.  The  substance  of  it  was,  on 
the  part  of  Mr.  Douglas,  that  while  he  was  unalterably 
opposed  to  the  Administration  in  all  its  political  issues, 
he  was  prepared  to  fully  sustain  the  President  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  all  his  constitutional  functions,  to  preserve  the 
Union,  maintain  the  Government,  and  defend  the  Fed 
eral  capital.  A  firm  policy  and  prompt  action  was  nec 
essary.  The  capital  was  in  danger,  and  must  be  de 
fended  at  all  hazards,  and  at  any  expense  of  men  and 
money.  He  spoke  of  the  present  and  future  without  any 
reference  to  the  past.' 

"  Douglas  took  this  means  to  inform  the  country  how  he 
stood,  and  to  exert  all  the  weight  of  his  influence  in  unit 
ing  the  people  to  sustain  the  Executive  in  his  efforts  to 
suppress  the  rebellion  by  force.  Not  only  did  he  issue 
this  dispatch,  but  he  started  for  the  Northwest,  and  every 
where,  by  his  public  speeches  and  conversation,  sounded 
the  alarm  and  rallied  the  people  to  support  the  Govern 
ment.  On  the  23d  of  April,  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  he  made 
a  speech  for  the  Union,  in  which  he  said  that  the  chair 
man  of  a  committee  of  secesssionists  had  been  instructed 
to  tender  the  command  of  all  the  forces  in  Virginia  to 
General  Scott.  The  reply  of  the  General,  said  Douglas, 
was  this :  '  I  have  served  my  country  more  than  fifty 
years  ;  and  so  long  as  I  live,  I  shall  stand  by  it,  against 
all  assailants,  even  though  my  native  State,  Virginia,  be 
among  them.' 

"  Douglas  made  a  speech  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  of  the 
same  tenor,  and  passing  on  to  Springfield,  on  the  25th  of 
April,  spoke  to  the  Legislature  and  citizens  of  Illinois  at  the 
Capital.  In  this  great  speech  he  said,  among  other  things  : 

"  «  So  long  as  there  was  a  hope  of  a  peaceful  solution,  I 
prayed  and  implored  for  compromise.  I  have  spared  no 
effort  for  a  peaceful  solution  of  these  troubles  ;  I  have 
failed,  and  there  is  but  one  thing  to  do — to  rally  under 
the  flag.  *  *  *  The  South  has  no  cause  of  complaint. 


232          DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

*  *  *  Shall  we  obey  the  laws  or  adopt  the  Mexican 
system  of  war  on  every  election?  *  *  *  Forget 
party — all — remember  only  your  country.  *  *  *  The 
shortest  road  to  peace  is  the  most  tremendous  preparation 
for  war.  *  *  *  It  is  with  a  sad  heart,  and  with  a 
grief  I  have  never  before  experienced,  that  I  have  to  con 
template  this  fearful  struggle.  *  *  *  But  it  is  our 
duty  to  protect  the  Government  and  the  flag  from  every 
assailant,  be  he  who  he  may."* 

"  From  Springfield,  Douglas  came  to  his  home  in  Chi 
cago,  and,  at  the  great  "Wigwam,"  repeated  his  appeal 
for  the  Union.  He  said  that  we  had  gone  to  the  very 
extreme  to  prevent  war,  and  the  return  for  all  our  efforts- 
had  been  '  armies  marching  on  the  National  Capital,'  a 
movement  to  blot  the  United  States  from  the  map  of  the 
world.  *  The  election  of  Lincoln  is  a  mere  pretext ;  the 
secession  movement  is  the  result  of  an  enormous  conspir 
acy,  existing  before  the  election/  *  There  can  be  no 
neutrals  in  this  war — only  patriots  and  traitors.'  Worn 
with  excitement  and  fatigue,  he  went ^  to  the  Tremont 
House  in  Chicago,  was  taken  ill,  and  on  the  3d  of  June 
thereafter  died,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-eight. 

"  Senator  McDougall,  of  California,  his  warm  personal 
and  political  friend,  said  in  the  Senate,  speaking  of  his 
last  speeches  :  '  Before  I  left  home  I  heard  the  battle-cry 
of  Douglas  resounding  over  the  mountains  and  valleys 
of  California  and  far-off  Oregon.  His  words  have  com 
municated  faith  and  strength  to  millions.  The  last  words 

*  Governor  Shelby  M.  Cullom,  then  Speaker  of  the  House,  who  presided 
at  the  meeting,  says : 

"  Douglas  spoke  with  great  earnestness  and  power.  Never  in  all  my 
experience  in  public  life,  before  or  since,  have  I  been  so  impressed  by  a 
speaker.  While  he  was  speaking,  a  man  came  into  the  hall  bearing  the 
American  flag.  Its  appearance  caused  the  wildest  excitment,  and  the  great 
assemblage  of  legislators  and  citizens  WHS  wrought  up  to  the  highest  en 
thusiasm  of  patriotism  by  the  masterly  speech. 

"  Douglas  told  me  that '  the  Union  was  in  terrible  peril,  and  he  had  come 
home  to  rouse  the  people  in  favor  of  the  Union.'" 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.         233 

of  the  dead  Douglas,  I  have  felt  to  be  stronger  than  the 
words  of  multitudes  of  living  men.' 

44  The  name  of  Douglas  is  familiar  in  Scottish  history,  as 
it  is  in  Scottish  poetry  and  romance  ;  but  among  all  the 
historic  characters  who  have  borne  it,  from  him  of  '  the 
bleeding  heart'  down,  few,  if  any,  have  surpassed  in 
interest  Stephen  Arnold  Douglas. 

"  His  death  was  a  great  loss  to  the  country  and  a  severe 
blow  to  the  President.  It  recalled  the  words  which  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  then  Senator  from  New  York,  had  spoken 
on  the  death  of  his  great  rival,  De  Witt  Clinton  :  *  I,  who 
while  Clinton  lived  never  envied  him  anything,  am  now 
almost  tempted  to  envy  him  his  grave  with  its  honors.' 
These  words  might  have  expressed  in  part  the  feelings 
of  Lincoln  on  the  death  of  Douglas." 

The  people  answered  the  call  of  Lincoln  and  the  ap 
peal  of  Douglas,  and  no  one  at  this  day  will  venture  to 
say  that  Democrats  were  less  prompt  than  Republicans 
in  enlisting  in  the  army.  But  in  view  of  the  ungenerous 
charges  that  have  been  made  in  the  past  for  partisan  pur 
poses,  an  analysis  of  the  figures  is  presented.  A  well 
informed  and  cautious  writer  claims  that  the  Democracy 
furnished  "  fully  two-thirds  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  Union  armies."  This  estimate  may  be  too  large, 
but  an  examination  of  the  votes  cast  in  the  Presidential 
election  of  1860  will  demonstrate  that  the  rebellion  could 
never  have  been  suppressed  without  the  active  aid  of  the 
Northern  Democrats.  The  votes  were  : 

For  Lincoln  in  the  Free  States 1,840,022 

For  Lincoln  in  the  Slave  States 26,430 

Total 1,866,452 

For  Douglas  in  the  Free  States 1,211,632 

For  Douglas  in  the  Slave  States 163,525 

Total 1,375^57 


234         DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

For  Breckinridge  in  the  Free  States  .....  277,082 

For  Breckinridge  in  the  Slave  States  ....  570,871 

Total   .................  847,953 

For  Bell  in  the  Free  States    .........  74,658 

For  Bell  in  the  Slave  States  .........  515,973 

Total 


Assuming  that  the  voters  of  the  Slave  States  supported 
the  Confederacy,  the  South  had  1,276,799  adult  males  at 
her  command.  Had  the  Douglas  voters  of  the  Free 
States  espoused  the  Southern  cause,  they  would  have 
given  it  a  mighty  contingent  of  1,211,632  men,  besides 
the  Northern  Breckinridge  voters,  who  would  have  fol 
lowed.  The  South  would  then  have  mustered  as  her 
defenders  2,765,513  men  over  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
and  more  than  half  of  them  in  the  midst  of  her  enemy's 
country,  with  which  to  oppose  1,941,110  men,  the  com 
bined  vote  of  Lincoln  and  Bell  in  the  Free  States.  From 
this  it  is  manifest  that  had  the  Democratic  party  sympa 
thized  with  secession  the  Government  could  not  have  put 
a  regiment  in  the  field  ;  and  had  a  half,  or  even  a  third  of 
it  taken  up  arms  for  the  South,  her  success  would  have 
been  almost  certain. 

The  truth  is  that  all  the  sympathies  of  Democrats, 
through  their  historic  memories  and  party  traditions, 
were  intensely  national.  Theirs  had  been  the  imperial 
policy  which  had  extended  the  domain  of  the  Republic 
to  the  Mexican  gulf  and  the  western  ocean  ;  theirs  the 
strong  hand  that  had  stricken  down  Nullification  ;  theirs 
the4teg  struggle  to  maintain  concord  between  the  jar 
ring  factions.  The  idea  of  a  dismemberment  of  the 
Union  was  repugnant  to  all  their  sentiments,  as  involving 
a  destruction  of  their  own  work  ;  and  they  rallied  round 
the  Government  with  enthusiasm,  resolved  to  support  it 
in  all  constitutional  and  legitimate  measures  for  putting 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.          235 

down  the  rebellion.  It  was  Democratic  public  sentiment 
that  stopped  the  Republican  cry,  "  Let  the  Union  slide." 
Such  was  the  temper  of  the  Democratic  party  till  its 
ardor  was  cooled  by  a  change  of  policy  toward  slavery 
and  a  series  of  harsh  and  unconstitutional  measures  on 
the  part  of  the  Administration. 

On  the  question  of  slavery  the  Democratic  position 
was  logical  and  consistent.  The  party  had  repeatedly 
guaranteed  to  the  South  protection  to  its  constitutional 
rights  in  that  species  of  property,  and  the  same  pledge 
had  been  given  by  the  President  in  his  proclamations,  by 
the  Republican  party  in  its  platforms,  and  by  the  Repub 
lican  Congress  in  its  resolutions. 

Confiding  in  such  pledges,  Democrats  crowded  into  the 
army  and  contributed  of  their  substance,  for  the  suppres 
sion  of  the  rebellion.  They  had  not  yet  learned  to  regard 
the  destruction  of  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  States 
as  the  legitimate  purpose  of  the  war ;  nor  did  they  deem 
abolition  a  politic  war  measure,  believing  that  the  decla 
ration  of  such  a  purpose  would  confirm  the  South  in  her 
obstinacy  and  still  longer  defer  or  forever  prevent  the  res 
toration  of  the  Union.  The  Emancipation  Proclamation 
they  consequently  deemed  unconstitutional  and  impolitic. 

The  declaration  of  martial  law  in  the  peaceful  States 
of  the  North,  the  draft  on  the  militia,  and  the  arbitrary 
arrest  of  citizens  without  process  of  law,  Democrats 
everywhere  considered  wantonly  tyrannical,  as  they  be 
lieved  them  to  be  entirely  unnecessary.  Added  to  these 
measures,  so  repugnant  to  their  notions  of  patriotism  and 
sound  policy,  was  the  constant  iteration  of  charges  of 
Democratic  disloyalty  and  sympathy  with  rebels,  made 
by  the  same  men  and  newspapers  that  had  urged  the 
"  wayward  sisters"  to  depart,  and  had  called  union  with 
the  South  "  a  league  with  death  "  and  the  American  flag 
"  a  flaunting  lie."  Surely  the  party  in  power  made  it 
hard  for  Democrats  to  be  patriotic  during  the  late  civil 


236          DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

war,  and  their  path  was  a  path  of  thorns.  But  bravely 
and  patiently  they  walked  the  bitter  way,  looking  to  the 
end.  Should  they  desert  the  Administration,  the  Union 
must  perish.  So  they  gave  their  strength  to  the  war, 
while  urging  measures  for  peace.  In  Congress,  in  the 
Legislatures,  in  conventions,  on  every  battle  field,  they 
fought  the  fight  of  the  Union,  and  bore  the  odium  in 
curred  by  outspoken  criticism  of  the  Government. 

The  position  of  the  Democratic  party  during  the  war 
is  so  admirably  stated  by  Hon.  S.  S.  Cox,  in  his  able  work, 
"  Three  Decades  of  Federal  Legislation,"  that  this  chap 
ter  can  not  omit  the  following  quotation  from  his  pages. 
He  says  : 

"  The  conflict  of  arms  was  far  from  being  irrepressible, 
whatever  might  be  the  character  of  the  moral  conflict  be 
tween  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  the  spirit  of  slavery.  And 
even  after  it  had  commenced,  its  continuance  was  not  at 
any  time  an  absolute  necessity  for  accomplishing  a  peace 
with  union — if  slavery  were  left  as  for  seventy-five  years- 
of  constitutional  government  it  had  existed— namely,  a 
State  institution — a  domestic  relation.  These  are  the 
views  which  actuated  the  Democracy  of  the  North  in  ac 
cepting  the  Crittenden  proposition.  They  sought  above 
all  things  to  avert  a  war  of  sections.  It  became  a  capital 
tenet  of  Democratic  faith  that  war  could  be  avoided  ;  and 
after  the  war  came,  that  peace  and  union  were  at  all 
times  within  reach,  on  terms  of  compromise  honorable 
and  equitable  to  both  sections.  It  is  in  this  light  that  the 
course  of  Northern  Democrats  is  to  be  judged,  preceding 
and  during  the  secession  war.  They  would  shed  no 
blood  either  to  maintain  or  to  destroy  the  institution  of 
slavery ;  but  all  that  they  had  would  be  freely  given  to 
maintain  the  Union  and  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitu 
tion  of  their  fathers.  They  ask  no  special  credit  for 
destroying  slavery — the  war  effectually  did  that,  and  they 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.          237 

were  not  aloof  from  its  perils.  They  scorned  the  charge 
that  they  desired  to  maintain  it  as  an  institution.  They 
wanted  slavery  to  die  in  peace  rather  than  in  war.  The 
idea  of  a  temporary  sacrifice  to  slavery  with  a  view  of 
maintaining  the  Union  was  always  paramount  in  the 
Democratic  councils.  It  would  be  waste  and  excess  to 
detail  the  acts  of  the  factions  which  precipitated  the 
whole  people  into  a  state  of  war.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  war  was  forced  upon  the  country  while  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  desired  peace." 

The  spirit  of  Douglas  was  abroad  in  Indiana.  Two 
days  after  the  fall  of  Sumter  and  the  very  day  the  call 
for  seventy-five  thousand  men  was  issued,  the  following 
telegram  flashed  over  the  wires  and  thrilled  the  hearts 
of  the  people  of  the  State  : 

4 '  INDIANAPOLIS,  April  15,  1861. 
•"7b  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States: 

"  On  behalf  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  I  tender  to  you 
for  the  defense  of  the  nation  and  to  uphold  the  authority 
of  the  Government,  ten  thousand  men. 

"  OLIVER  P.  MORTON,  Governor  of  Indiana." 

More  than  three  times  Indiana's  quota  of  the  President's 
requisition  volunteered  within  a  week.  Democrats  were 
noticeably  outspoken  in  demanding  a  vigorous  war  policy 
and  in  enlisting  in  the  army.  Yet  a  disposition  to  divert 
the  universal  patriotism  to  party  ends,  combined  with  a 
malignant  purpose  to  injure  Democratic  leaders,  already 
appeared  here  and  there.  An  instance  of  this  was  a 
seemingly  malicious  falsehood  sent  in  by  some  one  to  the 
Indianapolis  Journal  and  made  the  subject  of  comment 
by  that  paper.  It  is  explained  in  the  following  letter, 
which  it  drew  from  Mr.  Hendricks  : 

"  INDIANAPOLIS,  April  24,  1861. 

"  MR.  EDITOR — My  attention  has  been  called  to  an  ed 
itorial  in  the  Journal  this  morning,  in  which  it  is  stated 


238         DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

that,  at  a  Union  meeting  held  at  Shelbyville  a  few  even 
ings  since,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  me  with 
the  request  that  I  should  speak  ;  that  being  called  upon 
by  the  committee  I  refused  to  speak,  saying  that  I  had 
no  hand  in  originating  the  difficulty  and  would  have  noth 
ing  to  do  in  extricating  the  country  from  its  perilous  con 
dition. 

"The  writer  has  been  wholly  misinformed.  I  never 
heard  of  the  appointment  of  such  a  committee,  and  sup 
pose  that  none  was  appointed.  No  committee  waited  upon 
me  with  such  a  request.  Had  I  been  so  honored,  I  cer 
tainly  would  have  responded.  I  have  never  withheld  my 
views  upon  any  question  of  public  interest  from  the  peo 
ple  of  Shelby  county.  Upon  all  occasions  when  it  ap 
peared  proper,  I  have  expressed  my  opinions  in  relation 
to  our  present  troubles.  Since  the  war  commenced,  I 
have  uniformly  said  that  the  authority  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  is  not  questioned  in  Indiana,  and 
that  I  regarded  it  as  the  duty  of  the  citizens  of  Indiana 
to  respect  and  maintain  that  authority  and  to  give  the 
Government  an  honest  and  earnest  support  in  the  prose 
cution  of  the  war  until,  in  the  providence  of  God,  it  may 
be  brought  to  an  honorable  conclusion  and  the  blessings  of 
peace  restored  to  our  country — postponing  until  that  time 
all  controversy  in  relation  to  the  causes  and  responsibili 
ties  of  the  war.  No  man  will  feel  a  deeper  solicitude  in 
the  welfare  and  proud  bearing  of  Indiana's  soldiery  in 
the  conflict  of  arms  to  which  they  are  called,  than  myself. 

"  Allow  me  to  add  that  in  my  judgment  a  citizen  or 
newspaper  is  not  serving  the  country  well  in  the  present 
crisis  by  attempting  to  give  a  partisan  aspect  to  the  war 
or  by  seeking  to  pervert  the  cause  of  the  country  to  party 
ends.  Respectfully, 

"THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS." 

And  so  he  never  failed  to  aid  by  word  and  deed  the 
Federal  and  State  Governments  in  all  measures  directed 


DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION.          2391 

to  the  vigorous  and  efficient  prosecution  of  the  war, 
though  ever  watchful  to  point  out  and  fearless  to  denounce 
every  instance  of  the  unlawful  exercise  of  power  and  of 
corruption  in  public  affairs.  This  he  deemed  the  best 
service  that  a  leader  of  the  minority  could  render  to  the 
country,  and  that  there  was  only  too  much  need  of  such 
watchfulness  and  courage  in  those  evil  days  can  not  be 
denied. 

Having  fulfilled  his  pledge  to  the  State  Convention  by 
a  vigorous  campaign,  which  had  added  to  his  reputation 
as  an  attractive  speaker  and  strong  debater,  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  had  accepted  the  popular  verdict  gracefully  and 
had  turned  his  attention  to  his  profession.  He  was  nat 
urally  disappointed  at  the  defeat  of  his  own  ambition,  but 
his  greatest  concern  was  for  the  safety  of  the  country ; 
for  in  the  words  of  the  platform  on  which  he  was  nomi 
nated,  he  did  "  regard  the  preservation  of  the  Union  and 
the  Constitution  as  the  paramount  issue,"  and  believed 
that  "  in  the  harmony  and  union  of  the  Democratic  party 
consists  the  strongest  bond  of  union  among  the  States.'' 
Gifted  by  nature  with  the  faculty  of  looking  before  and 
after,  and  of  estimating  events  and  deeds  by  their  fore 
seen  results — the  secret  of  his  caution  and  conservatism 
— he  could  not  fail  at  this  time  to  be  deeply  apprehen 
sive,  however  little  he  may  have  anticipated  the  dread 
reality.  But  in  "thecurrent  of  fanaticism  "  referred  to  in 
his  convention  speech — a  current  which  he  lived  to  regard, 
with  the  younger  generation,  as  a  necessary  agency  of 
human  progress — and  in  the  rock-rooted  pro-slavery  sen 
timent  against  which  this  current  seemed  to  dash  in  vain, 
he  saw  grave  danger  of  wreck  to  the  ship  of  state.  He 
was  an  unusually  intelligent,  and  therefore  a  profoundly 
anxious,  observer  of  the  course  of  events,  "the  prologue 
of  the  portents  coming  on." 

On  retiring  from  the  Land  Office  he  had  returned  with 
Mrs.  Hendricks  to  Shelbyville,  and  there  she  had  re- 


240         DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  AND  WAR  OF  SECESSION. 

mained  among  their  relatives  and  friends  while  he  was 
campaigning  in  all  parts  of  the  State  ;  but  they  had  de- 
-  cided  not  to  reestablish  their  home  permanently  till  the 
result  of  the  elections  should  be  known.  They  naturally 
looked  toward  Indianapolis,  which,  though  still  in  the 
crude  stages  of  early  growth,  was  rapidly  becoming  the 
commercial,  social  and  political  center  of  the  State,  and 
was  the  most  favorable  location  for  a  man  who  aspired 
to  distinction  in  professional  or  public  life.  They  accord 
ingly  moved  in  the  fall  of  1860  to  this  city,  which  was 
destined  to  be  their  home  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN  OF    SIXTY-TWO,  AND  THE  GENERAL 

ASSEMBLY. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  of  1862  was  called, 
according  to  time-honored  custom,  for  the  8th  of  January. 
It  was  a  large  assemblage,  well  attended  by  delegates 
and  other  citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  State.  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  was  by  acclamation  made  permanent  President, 
and  on  taking  the  chair  delivered  an  address,  which  is 
given  in  full  in  the  latter  part  of  this  volume.  It  is  a  com 
prehensive  exposition  of  Democratic  doctrine  at  that  date. 

The  principal  subject  discussed  was  the  policy  of  the 
country  toward  slavery.  Emancipation  as  a  war  meas 
ure,  which  some  were  now  beginning  to  urge,  he  opposed 
from  the  conviction  that  it  would  prove  to  be  ''weakness 
and  not  strength,  a  burthen  and  not  a  support,"  which 
could  be  adopted  "  only  as  a  means  of  revenge  to  destroy 
the  South,  but  not  to  restore  the  Union."  He  opposed  it 
on  economic  grounds  as  "  the  destruction  of  Southern 
labor  and  the  ruin  of  our  rich  trade  and  the  value  of  our 
products."  "  To  encourage  production  in  the  South,  that 
they  may  be  large  buyers  from  us,  is  the  true  interest  of 
the  Northwest ;  and  that  political  party  that  would  destroy 
that  market  is  our  greatest  foe."  He  denounced  the  pro 
posal  to  arm  the  blacks  as  an  implication  that  the  white 
men  of  the  North  were  not  able  to  suppress  the  rebellion, 
and  as  exposing  the  people  of  the  South  to  the  danger 
of  servile  insurrection.  Similar  opinions  on  these  points 
were  still  held,  it  will  be  remembered,  by  all  but  the  ex- 
16  ( 241 ) 


242  THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO. 

treme  Abolition  wing  of  the  Republican  party.  The  doc 
trines  of  the  Indiana  Democracy  were  very  well  sum 
marized  in  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Convention, 
some  of  which  were  as  follows : 

"  That  we  are  unalterably  attached  to  the  Constitution, 
by  which  the  Union  of  these  States  was  formed  and  es 
tablished  ;  and  that  a  faithful  observance  of  its  principles 
can  alone  continue  the  existence  of  the  Union  and  the 
permanent  happiness  of  the  people.  *  *  *  * 
"That  we  are  utterly  opposed  to  the  twin  heresies, 
Northern  sectionalism  and  Southern  secession,  as  inimi 
cal  to  the  Constitution ;  and  that  freemen,  as  they  value 
the  boon  of  civil  liberty  and  the  peace  of  the  country, 
should  frcwn  indignantly  upon  them. 

4 'That  in  this  national  emergency  the  Democracy  of 
Indiana,  banishing  all  feeling  of  passion  and  resentment, 
will  recollect  only  their  duty  to  the  whole  country  ;  that 
this  war  should  not  be  waged  in  the  spirit  of  conquest  or 
subjugation,  not  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  or  inter- 
fearing  with  the  rights  or  institutions  of  the  States,  but  to 
defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution 
and  to  preserve  the  Union  with  all  the  dignity,  equality 
and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired  ;  and  that  as 
soon  as  these  objects  are  accomplished  the  war  ought  to 
cease. 

"  That  we  will  sustain  with  all  our  energies  a  war  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the  integrity 
of  the  Union  under  the  Constitution  ;  but  we  are  opposed 
to  a  war  for  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes  or  the  sub 
jugation  of  the  Southern  States. 

' '  That  the  purpose,  avowed  and  advocated  by  the  North 
ern  disunionists,  to  liberate  and  arm  the  negro  slaves,  is 
unconstitutional,  insulting  to  loyal  citizens,  a  disgrace  to 
the  age  ;  is  calculated  to  retard  the  suppression  of  the  re 
bellion,  and  meets  our  unqualified  condemnation. 

"  That  the  total  disregard  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corptis 


THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO.  243 

by  the  authorities  over  us  and  the  seizure  and  imprison 
ment  of  citizens  of  loyal  States  where  the  Judiciary  is  in 
full  operation,  without  warrant  of  law  and  without  assign 
ing  any  cause  or  giving  to  the  party  arrested  any  oppor 
tunity  of  defense,  are  flagrant  violations  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  most  alarming  acts  of  usurpation  of  power.  * 

"  That  the  meritorious  conduct  of  the  Indiana  troops 
in  every  battle  field  where  victory  has  perched  upon  the 
national  banner  has  filled  the  people  of  this  State  with 
the  highest  gratitude  to  her  gallant  sons,  and  that  we  send 
our  best  wishes  to  officers  and  men,  dispersed  throughout 
the  country,  and  the  heartfelt  greetings  of  every  Demo 
crat  for  their  further  brilliant  achievements  in  the  coming 
contests  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union." 

The  following  "  Democratic  Union  State  Ticket"  was 
nominated  :  for  Secretary  of  State,  James  S.  Athon  ;  for 
Auditor  of  State,  Joseph  Ristine  ;  for  Treasurer  of  State, 
Matthew  L.  Brett ;  for  Attorney  General,  Oscar  B.  Hord  ; 
for  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Milton  B.  Hop 
kins.  The  last  named  gentleman  afterward  declined  the 
nomination,  and  Samuel  L.  Rugg  was  substituted  by  the 
State  Central  Committee. 

For  six  months  from  this  convention  there  was  a  lull  in 
politics,  the  attention  of  all  being  absorbed  in  the  events 
of  the  war.  This  was  the  time  of  McClellan's  Peninsu 
lar  campaign. 

The  growth  of  the  sentiment  of  opposition  to  the  ex 
tension  of  slavery  in  the  Territories  had  been  rapid  in 
Indiana.  The  entire  Republican  party,  in  the  majority 
at  the  last  election  by  nearly  ten  thousand,  was  inspired 
with  this  sentiment ;  and  being  free  from  political  alliance 
with  the  South,  it  could  afford  to  be  aggressive  in  pro 
claiming  its  views.  But  the  controlling  wing  of  the  Dem 
ocracy  was  no  less  firm  in  the  same  faith,  having  caught 


244  THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO. 

up  with  enthusiasm  the  popular  sovereignty  doctrine  as 
the  means  under  the  Constitution  of  securing  freedom  in 
the  Territories  and  free  Constitutions  for  the  new  States. 
The  vote  of  instructions  for  Douglas  in  the  Democratic 
State  Convention  of  1860,  which  turned  upon  this  issue, 
was,  it  will  be  remembered,  ayes  265,  noes  129;  and  the 
proportion  in  the  popular  election  was  much  greater,  viz., 
for  Douglas  115,166,  for  Breckinridge  12,295. 

But  Senator  Jesse  D.  Bright  had  experienced  no  change 
of  view.  Elected  to  high  offices  years  before  the  strife 
over  slavery  had  swallowed  up  all  other  questions,  he  had 
maintained  his  power  by  his  great  abilities  and  strong 
character,  and  now  presented  the  anomaly  of  a  Kentucky 
slave-holder  representing  in  the  Federal  Senate  the  free 
State  of  Indiana.  Mr.  Woollen,  who  knew  him  well, 
thus  describes  the  close  of  his  political  career : 

"  During  most  of  the  time  for  many  years  he  lived  at 
Washington  and  in  Kentucky  in  the  midst  of  slavery. 
So  it  is  no  wonder  he  became  politically  permeated  with 
the  virus  of  that  abominable  institution.  When  the  war 
came  and  slavery  was  about  to  be  destroyed,  he  had  no 
heart  for  the  contest.  All  the  Southern  Senators,  save  those 
from  the  border  States,  excepting  Andrew  Johnson  only, 
left  Washington  and  went  home  to  help  on  the  rebellion. 
Mr.  Bright  did  not  believe  that  war  would  restore  the 
Union  as  it  was,  and  therefore  he  opposed  the  war.  He 
wanted  the  Union  to  stand  dominated  and  controlled  by 
Southern  men  and  rather  than  have  any  other  Union  he 
was  willing  to  see  the  country  go  to  pieces.  It  is  but 
just  to  say  that  he  wras  not  a  Secessionist  -per  sc,  and 
would  gladly  have  had  the  Union  remain  as  it  was.  He 
knew  that  war  meant  the  destruction  of  slavery,  and,  be 
ing  a  slave-holder  he  opposed  the  war.  Just  before  the 
commencement  of  hostilities,  but  when  it  was  apparent 
that  the  conflict  must  come,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  the  Provisional  President  of  the  Confederate  States, 


THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO.  245 

introducing  an  old  friend  and  former  fellow  townsman. 
The  letter  was  as  follows  : 

'  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  i,  1861, 

'  My  Dear  Sir — Allow  me  to  introduce  to  your  ac 
quaintance  my  friend  Thomas  Lincoln  of  Texas.  He 
visits  your  Capital  mainly  to  dispose  of  what  he  regards 
a  great  improvement  to  fire-arms.  I  recommend  him  to 
your  favorable  consideration  as  a  gentleman  of  the  first 
respectability,  and  reliable  in  every  respect. 

'  Very  truly  yours, 

'  JESSE  D.  BRIGHT. 

'To  His  Excellency,  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the 
Confederation  of  States.' 

"  Lincoln  was  arrested  on  his  way  to  the  Confederate 
Capital  with  the  letter  of  Mr.  Bright  upon  his  person. 
Proceedings  were  at  once  commenced  against  the  writer, 
and  after  a  short  and  angry  contest,  ended  in  his  expul 
sion  from  a  body  in  which  he  had  sat  for  sixteen  years  and 
over  which  he  had  presided  for  a  quarter  of  that  time. 
He  defended  himself  as  best  he  could  and  when  the  vote 
was  taken,  gathered  up  his  books  and  papers,  and  left 
the  Senate  never  to  return.  He  came  back  to  Indiana, 
and  for  some  time  quietly  staid  at  his  home.  But  when 
the  Democracy,  in  1862,  elected  a  majority  of  the  Legis 
lature,  he  determined  to  be  a  candidate  for  his  unexpired 
term  in  the  Senate.  When  the  Legislature  met  he  came 
to  Indianapolis  and  asked  his  party  friends  to  vindicate 
him  by  sending  him  back  to  the  body  which  had  disowned 
him.  But  the  '  scepter  had  departed  from  Judah,'  and 
the  boon  was  refused  him.  Judge  Turpie  was  elected  to 
the  place,  and  Mr.  Bright  left  Indianapolis,  swearing 
vengeance  against  those  who  had  brought  about  his  dis 
comfiture.  He  laid  the  principal  blame  of  his  defeat  at 
the  door  of  Governor  Hendricks,  and  ever  afterwards 
was  a  personal  and  political  enemy  of  that  gentleman." 


246  THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO. 

The  resolution  of  expulsion  was  passed  February  5, 
1862,  and  Governor  Morton  immediately  appointed  to 
the  vacancy  ex-Governor  Joseph  A.  Wright,  who  had 
recently  returned  from  his  post  abroad,  as  Minister  to 
Berlin.  Governor  Wright  had  been  a  life-long  Demo 
crat,  of  strong  anti-slavery  views,  and  a  rival  of  Bright 
for  the  leadership,  and  being  now  disposed  to  join  the 
Republican  party,  it  seemed  to  Governor  Morton  an  in 
stance  of  "  poetic  justice  "  that  he  should  succeed  to  the 
seat  of  his  fallen  enemy.  But  the  campaign  of  1862  was 
to  reverse  all  calculations  and  give  the  seat  of  Bright  to 
a  third  Senator  within  the  single  term. 

Early  in  July  the  Democratic  State  Central  Committee, 
George  McOuat,  Chairman,  opened  the  political  cam 
paign  with  an  elaborate  call  for  a  Mass  Convention  to 
meet  at  Indianapolis  the  3Oth  of  the  same  month,  to  con 
sider  the  condition  of  the  country ;  and  about  the  same 
time  Mr.  Hendricks  entered  actively  into  the  field.  At 
a  barbecue  at  Anderson,  in  July,  the  latter  spoke  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  to  an  audience  of  five  thousand  people, 
and  is  reported  to  have  repelled  in  a  masterly  manner  the 
charge  of  disloyalty  brought  against  Democrats.  He 
held  that  allegiance  to  the  Government  means  fidelity  to 
the  Constitution.  No  man  should  be  before  him  in  that 
regard.  All  men  were  bound  to  that,  and  no  oath  could 
increase  the  obligation  resting  upon  them.  Let  those  who 
charged  Democrats  with  disloyalty  answer  where  the 
army  came  from.  It  was  the  duty  of  all  to  support  the 
war  ;  but  the  anti-slavery  party  could  never  bring  about 
a  settlement,  and  a  change  of  officers  was  necessary  to 
the  restoration  of  the  Union.  He  would  give  a  cordial 
support  to  the  Administration  in  all  legal  and  necessary 
measures  in  peace  and  war,  but  claimed  the  right  at  all 
times  to  criticise  the  policy  of  the  Government,  come 
what  might.  In  the  same  strain  he  spoke  at  Greenfield 
on  the  1 2th,  and  at  Vernon  on  the  i6th.  The  following 


THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO.  247 

sentiments  from  his  hour- and-a-half  speech  delivered  on  the 
court  house  steps  at  Franklin,  July  lyth,  are  reported: 
That  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Democratic  party  to  aid  the 
Administration  with  men  and  money  to  prosecute  the 
war ;  it  was  their  duty  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  he  knew 
they  would  do  their  whole  duty.  He* would  venture  the 
prediction  that  when  the  delinquent  lists  of  Johnson  and 
other  counties  were  made  out,  it  would  be  found  that 
those  who  were  howling  "Traitor!"  at  honest  Demo 
crats  would  be  recorded  there,  while  the  so-called  traitors 
would  have  done  their  duty  by  giving  the  Government 
the  aid  the  law  demanded. 

Preparations  for  the  Mass  Convention  went  forward, 
and  it  was  announced  that  John  J.  Crittenden,  S.  S.  Cox 
and  others  would  be  in  attendance  to  address  the  meet 
ing.  The  Convention  assembled,  according  to  the  call, 
with  a  large  attendance.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  made  Pres 
ident  by  acclamation.  His  speech  on  taking  the  chair 
was  brief,  urging  order  and  decorum,  but  £ie  spoke  very 
seriously,  impressed  with  the  perilous  conditions  of  the 
times.  He  thanked  the  Convention,  and  added : 

"All  I  desire  to  say  is  this :  We  are  Indianians.  We 
are  surrounded  by  troubles.  Our  society  is  in  an  excited 
condition  ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen,  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  good  patriot,  to  maintain  the  public 
peace." 

Later  he  read  a  letter  from  Captain  Benjamin  Harri 
son,  of  the  7oth  Regiment,  calling  the  attention  of  the 
convention  to  the  subject  of  recruiting  for  the  army.  He 
earnestly  commended  the  subject  of  the  letter  to  those 
present,  declaring  that  the  Democracy  was  ready  to 
respond  to  the  demands  of  the  Government  with  men  and 
money.  Speeches  were  made  by  others  and  resolutions 
of  the  usual  tenor  were  adopted. 

From  this  time  forward  the  contest  was  waged  with 
vigor  by  both  parties,  and  with  an  ever  increasing  bitter- 


THE    STATE    CAMPAIGN    OF    SIXTY-TWO. 

ness.     The  Democratic  speakers  made  the  most  of  even- 
mistake  or  failure  on  the  part  of  the  Government  and 
every   instance    of  inefficiency    and    corruption    among 
officials  and  contractors,  to  prove  the  incapacity  or  indis 
position  of  the  Administration  to  prosecute  the  war  to  a 
speedy  conclusion.     It  must  not  be  a  contractors'  war, 
aggravated    and    prolonged    for    the    sake    of    plunder 
and  speculation.     It  was  being  preverted  from  its  legiti 
mate  purpose,   proclaimed  in  repeated    declarations   of 
both  parties— the  preservation  of  the  Union  under  the 
Constitution— to  an  Abolitionist  war  for  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves.  The  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corphs* 
with  the  military  arrests  of  citizens  while  the  State  courts 
were  in  operation  and  competent  to  try  all  offenders,  were 
justly  denounced  as  an  unnecessary  subversion  of  civil 
liberty.     The  removal  of  General  McClellan  just  as  he 
had   brought  the   army  into   an   efficient  condition,  was 
severely  criticised.     In   this   campaign   Mr.   Hendricks 
bore  his  full  part,  speaking  at  many  places,  and  marshal 
ing  all  the  points  of  the  argument  with  his  usual   logic 
and  force  ;  but  the  candid  critic  will  not  find  an  expres 
sion  in  all  his  speeches  which  goes  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  legitimate  partisan  opposition,  or  fails  in  loyalty  to 
the  Union  or  in  zeal  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war. 

The  Republican  press  and  orators  appealed  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  people,  their  love  for  the  Union,  and 
their  pride  in  the  deeds  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field  and 
the  efforts  of  the  able  and  devoted  Governor  at  home,  in 
urging  them  to  stand  by  the  administration,  both  State 
and  National ;  but  resorted  with  but  too  little  scruple  to 
the  cheap  weapon  of  denunciation,  branding  as  disloyalty 
any  criticisms  of  the  measures  or  agents  of  the  Govern 
ment.  These  tactics  were  unavailing  in  Indiana,  and  in 
the  October  election  the  State  swung  back  to  her  old 
Dosition  and  elected  the  Democratic  ticket  by  a  majority 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    SIXTY-THREE.  249 

of  9,591,  and  Democratic  majorities  in  both  houses  of  the 
General  Assembly. 

The  General  Assembly  convened  January  8,  1863,  and 
organized  with  Ex-Governor  Paris  C.  Dunning  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  Senate  and  Samuel  H.  Buskirk  as  Speaker 
of  the  House.  This  Assembly  has  been  branded  as  the 
"  Rebel  Legislature,"  and  abused  in  the  most  unsparing 
manner.  It  is  not  the  province  of  this  book  to  attempt 
to  vindicate  it  or  any  of  its  measures,  some  of  which  must 
be  pronounced  unjustified  even  by  the  necessities  of  the 
occasion  and  the  provocations  of  the  time.  But  of  many 
of  the  men  who  composed  the  majority  in  both  Houses,  it 
is  just  to  say  that  their  patriotism  was  as  pure  and  their 
love  of  country  and  State  as  strong,  as  could  be  found 
among  the  best  of  their  opponents  upon  the  floor.  This 
is  attested  by  the  often  renewed  confidence  of  the  people, 
who  seldom  err  gravely  in  such  a  case,  in  electing  or 
nominating  them  for  high  and  responsible  offices.  They 
were  filled  with  the  intense  party  rancor  of  that  time,  and 
believed  themselves  the  vindicators  of  free  government 
against  the  encroachments  of  despotism.  Their  errors 
were  errors  of  judgment  and  not  of  evil  intent ;  they  were 
true  men,  and  the  people  of  Indiana,  whose  elected  rep 
resentatives  they  were,  can  not  patiently  hear  the  charges 
that  have  been  brought  against  them. 

While  no  apologies  are  offered  for  this  Legislature, 
there  is  on  the  other  hand  no  disposition  to  detract  from 
the  praise  of  Governor  Morton — praise  justly  his  due  for 
his  devotion  to  the  Union  and  his  solicitude  for  the  honor 
of  the  State  ;  for  his  energy  in  putting  troops  in  the  field 
and  his  forethought  in  providing  for  their  wants  ;  for  his 
determination  in  overcoming  obstacles,  his  courage  in 
assuming  responsibility,  and  his  skill  in  delivering  the 
State  by  extra  legal  means  from  the  difficulties  with  which 
she  was  beset.  By  his  great  deeds,  his  strong  will,  his 
powerful  intellect,  his  rugged  eloquence,  his  unwavering 


250          THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    SIXTY-THREE. 

love  and  implacable  hate,  he  towers  above  the  history 
of  that  time,  a  colossal  figure  for  the  admiration  and  the 
terror  of  men. 

Much,  however,  had  already  happened  that  was  well 
calculated  to  alarm  the  patriotic.  The  determined 
stand  of  the  Government  aginst  conciliation,  the  denun 
ciation  as  traitors  of  all  who  favored  a  termination  of  the 
war  on  however  honorable  terms,  the  declaration  of  mar 
tial  law  in  the  North,  the  proclamation  of  a  draft,  arbi 
trary  arrests  without  charges  and  on  mere  suspicion,  the 
disregard  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  and  of  the  decision 
of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  denying  the 
validity  of  certain  arrests — all  seemed  to  be  unnecessary 
and  oppressive,  and  to  evince  a  determination  on  the  part 
of  the  Government  to  establish  despotic  power  upon 
the  ruins  of  the  most  cherished  conquests  of  the  Anglo- 
American  race— personal  liberty  and  free  speech.  The 
Emancipation  Proclamation,  manifestly  extra-constitu 
tional,  was  regarded  as  changing  the  object  of  the  war 
from  the  restoration  of  the  Union  to  the  subversion  of  the 
domestic  institution  of  the  States.  Added  to  these  causes 
of  irritation  there  was  in  Indiana  a  merciless  proscription 
against  Democratic  military  officers,  which  forced  many 
out  of  the  service,  and  affixed  upon  others  the  stigma  of 
dismissal  from  the  army  without  charges  or  opportunity 
of  defense. 

These  things  had  been  discussed  before  the  people  of 
the  State ;  and  upon  the  argument  submitted,  the  Demo 
crats  had  triumphed.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
the  Democratic  majority  in  the  flush  of  victory  took  their 
seats  in  the  legislative  halls  in  a  temper  of  exasperation 
against  the  State  and  Federal  Administrations  ;  nor  is  it 
strange  that  in  their  zeal  for  civil  liberty  and  for  an  hon 
orable  restoration  of  the  Union,  they  often  passed  the 
bounds  of  discretion,  in  resolutions  favoring  compromises 
and  peace  conventions,  and  in  condeming  emancipation, 


THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    SIXTY-THREE.          251 

the  arming  of  negroes,  and  the  harsh,  impolitic  agencies 
employed  to  suppress  opinion  in  the  North. 

A  paragraph  from  a  letter  of  Joseph  Ristine,  Auditor 
of  State,  to  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Member  of  Congress, 
written  a  year  "before  this  time,  has  been  quoted  with 
comments  of  heavy  censure,  as  an  evidence  of  Demo 
cratic  treason  ;  but  it  may  also  seem  to  the  candid  reader 
to  reflect  a  grave  reproach  upon  the  vindictive  and  re 
pressive  policy  which  could  draw  such  expressions  from 
a  sincere  and  honorable  man.  He  said : 

"The  successful  resistance  of  the  South  I  regard  as 
the  only  safety  of  us  of  the  North.  Should  she  be  over 
whelmed,  woe  betide  us  who  have  dared  oppose  the 
policy  of  the  Administration  !  A  Democrat  of  the  North 
who  dares  oppose  the  policy  of  the  present  leaders  is  as 
much  hated  as  those  of  the  South ;  and  I  look  upon  this 
war  as  much  and  more  a  war  upon  the  Democracy  than 
any  anything  else." 

The  temper  of  parties  in  the  Legislature  was  soon  man 
ifested.  The  majority  determined  to  go  into  the  election 
of  United  States  Senators  on  the  afternoon  of  the  second 
day,  the  time  which  had  usually  been  set  apart  for  re 
ceiving  the  Governor's  message.  To  avoid  going  into 
joint  convention,  the  Republican  Senators  broke  the 
quorum  by  retiring  from  their  chamber  in  a  body.  At 
this  juncture  the  Governor's  secretary  appeared  at  the 
door  of  the  House  to  present  the  message.  It  was  cus 
tomary  to  receive  this  document  in  joint  convention,  and 
there  was  no  precedent  for  its  presentation  when  a  quo 
rum  was  lacking  in  either  house. 

A  similar  event  had  occurred  in  the  Congress  in  1855. 
The  Republicans  were  in  the  midst  of  their  long  strug 
gle  to  elect  to  the  speakership  General  N.  P.  Banks, 
author  of  the  expression,  "Let  the  Union  slide."  Mr. 
Giddings  and  others  expressed  indignation  that  the  Pres 
ident  had  "thrust"  his  message  upon  an  unorganized 


252          THE    GENERAL    ASSEMBLY    OF    SIXTY-THREE. 

body,  and  voted  not  to  receive  it.  To  emphasize  the 
indignity  it  was  pigeonholed  unread,  and  ignored  for  two 
months.  With  this  treatment  of  a  Democratic  President 
fresh  in  their  minds,  the  majority  in  the  Legislature  might 
have  been  expected  to  show  a  spirit  of  retaliation  ;  but 
they  contented  themselves  with  returning  the  message 
for  the  time,  with  an  explanation  of  the  circumstances, 
and  subsequently  appointed  a  committee  to  notify  the 
Governor  that  the  Assembly  was  organized  and  ready  to 
receive  his  communications.  In  view  of  his  now  declin 
ing  u  any  further  consideration  of  the  subject,"  the  reso 
lution  "that  the  House  adopt  the  exalted  and  patriotic 
sentiments  contained  in  the  message  lately  delivered  to 
the  Legislature  of  New  York,  by  his  excellency,  Horatio 
Seymour,"  which  was  received  with  applause  but  not 
adopted,  can  not  fairly  be  deemed  an  affront  to  the  Gov 
ernor  of  Indiana. 

The  measures  proposed  by  this  Legislature  which  have 
been  most  severely  condemned  by  the  Republican  press 
and  politicians,  were  a  Military  Board  bill,  and  a  Metro 
politan  Police  Bill.  The  latter  measure,  drawn  by  Wm. 
E.  Niblack,  since  eminent  as  member  of  Congress  and 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  was  designed 
to  withdraw  from  partisan  control  the  police  force  of  the 
capital.  A  similar  law  has  since  been  enacted  (1883), 
and  commends  itself  to  the  people  without  regard  to 
party.  Its  operation  in  Indianapolis  and  Evansville  has. 
been  highly  beneficial,  and  the  experience  of  the  large 
cities  of  other  States  has  fully  justified  the  system. 

The  Military  Board  bill  provided  that  the  Secretary,. 
Auditor,  Treasurer  and  Attorney  General  of  the  State 
should  constitute  a  Board  which  should  have  the  custody 
of  the  State's  arms,  and  be  empowered  to  appoint  a  Major 
General  and  Brigadier  Generals  for  the  militia.  The 
Major  General  was  to  appoint  his  own  staff.  The  Gov 
ernor  was  to  remain  commander-in-chief,  and  his  staff  was 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  SIXTY-THREE.  253 

to  be  continued.  Against  this  bill  the  cry  was  raised  that 
such  a  law  would  be  unconstitutional  and  would  rob  the 
Governor  of  every  vestige  of  military  power ;  and  it  was 
further  characterized  as  a  defiance  of  both  the  State  and 
National  Governments.  But  the  Constitution  plainly  de 
clares  that  the  militia  "shall  be  organized,  officered,  armed, 
equipped  and  trained  in  such  manner  as  may  be  provided 
by  law  ;"  thus  placing  these  matters  wholly  under  legisla 
tive  control ;  and  while  the  Governor  is  made  the  source 
of  military  commissions,  he  is  empowered  to  anoint  only 
the  Adjutant,  Commissary  and  Quartermaster  Generals. 
Without  doubt  the  proposed  law  would  have  taken  away 
much  of  the  Governor's  power  ;  but  it  would  not  have  left 
him  in  the  utterly  impotent  condition  to  which  President 
Johnson  was  reduced  in  later  years  by  Senator  Morton 
•and  the  Republicans  in  Congress,  when  they  stripped 
him  of  the  right  to  name  his  own  .Secretary  of  War,  or 
to  issue  a  military  order  unless  with  the  consent  of  a  Sec 
retary  who  was  hostile  to  his  person  and  opposed  to  his 
views. 

The  resolutions  offered  or  adopted,  of  which  this  Gen 
eral  Assembly  was  unusually  prolific,  have  been  bitterly 
assailed.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Indiana  was  the 
only  Northern  State  that  elected  a  Democratic  Leg 
islature  while  the  war  was  in  progress.  This  Legislature 
was  therefore  regarded  as  the  spokesman  of  the  party, 
and  its  utterances  were  received  with  the  disposition  now 
rampant  in  the  country,  to  make  the  term  Democratic 
synonymous  with  disloyal.  None  but  Republicans  could 
be  allowed  to  be  patriotic  ;  no  Democrat  could  be  suffered 
to  rise  in  the  army  or  succeed  in  civil  life. 

The  legislative  resolutions  have  therefore  received  scant 
indulgence.  Their  criticism  of  the  conduct  of  the  war 
was  counted  disloyalty,  their  suggestion  of  negotiations 
for  its  termination  on  the  basis  of  the  Union  was  de 
nounced  as  treason,  their  praises  of  the  soldiers  in  the 


254  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  SIXTY-THREE. 

field  were  stigmatized  as  hypocrisy.  Yet  their  position 
upon  the  more  important  subjects  touched,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  emancipation,  has  been  justified  by  subsequent 
events  ;  and  their  view  of  emancipation  as  a  constitutional 
question  has  been  affirmed  by  the  best  legal  authorities. 
The  great  case,  Ex  Parte  Milligan,  has  amply  vindicated 
their  bitterest  invectives  against  the  arbitrary  exercise  of 
power  in  arresting  citizens.  Of  that  unwarrantable  usur 
pation,  the  resolutions  said  that  it  was  "  arbitrary,  vio 
lent,  insulting,  and  degrading  to  a  degree  unknown  to  any 
government  on  earth,  except  those  avowedly  and  notor 
iously  cruel  and  despotic."  Upon  the  same  question 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  since  said, 
by  the  mouth  of  David  Davis,  in  language  of  judicial 
calm  but  of  no  less  positive  censure  :  "  A  citizen  not  con 
nected  with  the  military  service,  and  resident  in  a  State 
where  the  courts  are  open  and  in  the  proper  exercise  of 
their  jurisdiction,  can  not,  even  when  the  privilege  of  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  is  suspended,  be  tried,  convicted  or 
sentenced,  otherwise  than  by  the  ordinary  courts  of  law. 
The  Supreme  Court  hold  that  the  constitutional  guaranty 
of  trial  by  jury  was  intended  as  well  for  a  state  of  war  as 
in  time  of  peace,  and  that  it  is  equally  binding  upon  the 
people  and  the  Federal  authorities  at  all  times  and  under 
all  circumstances." 

The  Appropriation  bill  was  generously  framed,  making 
ample  provision  for  the  support  of  the  State  government 
and  the  Benevolent  Institutions,  and  for  the  soldiers  of  the 
State  in  the  service  of  the  Government.  It  was  satisfac 
tory  to  both  parties,  but  it  was  never  passed.  On  the 
25th  of  February  the  Military  Board  bill  was  brought  to 
a  final  vote  ;  when  the  Republican  members  of  the  House 
left  the  chamber,  thus  breaking  the  quorum.  On  March 
pth,  after  waiting  in  vain  for  their  return,  the  General  As 
sembly  adjourned. 

The  responsibility  for  the  failure  of  the  Appropriation 


THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  SIXTY-THREE.  255 

bill  is  not  with  the  Democrats.  It  was  known  that  the 
bills  objected  to  could  not  pass  the  Senate,  though  passed 
by  the  House,  since  Senator  A.  C.  Downey,  of  Ohio 
county,  had  pledged  himself  to  vote  against  them,  and 
his  vote  was  necessary  to  give  the  Democrats  a  constitu 
tional  majority.  It  wras  charged  at  the  time  that  certain 
great  corporate  interests  broke  up  the  General  Assembly 
to  prevent  other  legislation  then  pending,  while  the  os 
tensible  reason  of  the  bolt  was  to  prevent  the  passage  of 
the  Military  Board  bill  and  the  Metropolitan  Police  bill. 
But  meantime  the  election  of  United  States  Senators, 
though  delayed  somewhat  by  the  factious  conduct  of 
both  sides,  had  been  duly  held.  Indiana  at  this  time  was 
represented  in  the  Federal  Senate  by  Henry  S.  Lane  and 
Joseph  A.  Wright.  The  former  was  elected  in  January, 
1 86 1,  after  having  occupied  the  Governor's  chair  for  but 
two  days  ;  the  latter  was  holding  by  appointment  of  the 
Governor.  It  was,  therefore,  in  order  to  proceed  at  once 
to  the  election  of  a  Senator  for  the  few  remaining  weeks 
of  the  unexpired  term,  as  well  as  one  for  the  regular  term 
to  begin  March  4th.  The  climax  of  Governor  Wright's  dis 
appointments  was  at  hand.  One  of  the  most  eminent  and 
influential  of  the  Governors  of  Indiana,  he  had  reached 
his  high  position  by  his  own  merits  and  unaided  efforts. 
His  long  term  in  the  executive  chair  (1849-1856)  con 
nected  the  eras  of  the  two  Constitutions  of  the  State,  and 
shaped  much  of  the  legislation  under  which  we  still  live. 
A  Democrat  "  from  way  back  "  and  high  in  the  councils 
of  his  party,  he  had  been  a  member  of  Congress  and  a 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States.  He  had 
justly  aspired  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate  as  the  crown  and 
completion  of  his  public  career,  but  in  this  he  had  been 
thwarted  by  his  very  virtues ;  for  it  was  not  through  ac 
cident  that  he  was  hostile  to  Jesse  D.  Bright.  His  strong 
anti-slavery. sentiments  naturally  arrayed  him  against  that 
powerful  leader,  and  thus  barred  his  way  to  the  coveted 


256  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  SIXTY-THREE. 

prize.  When  at  last  Governor  Morton,  who  of  old  as  a 
Democrat  had  supported  Wright  in  his  rivalry  with  the 
party  dictator,  appointed  him  to  the  seat  of  his  fallen 
enemy,  they  both  hoped,  perhaps,  that  enough  Democrats 
would  follow  the  new  Senator  in  his  course  to  secure  a 
Legislature  favorable  to  his  election.  But  the  majority 
was  against  him  ;  and  so  greatly  had  political  feeling  be 
come  intensified  that  there  were  few  of  his  old  party 
friends  but  rejoiced  in  his  discomfiture. 

The  majority  had  not  far  to  look  for  available  men  of 
unimpeachable  Democracy.      Their  late  candidates  for 
Governor    and   Lieutenant   Governor  had   received   the 
highest  indorsement  of  the  party  and  had  increased  their 
popularity  by  an  able  canvass.    For  this  reason  as  well  as 
for  their  eminent  fitness,  they  were  nominated  unanimously 
by  the  party  caucus  the  evening  of  January  8th,  and  the 
afternoon  of  the  i4th  they  were  elected  in  joint  conven 
tion, — David  Turpie  for  the  small  remainder  of  the  term  of 
Bright  and  Wright,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  to  succeed 
him  on  the  4th  of  March,  for  a  full  period  of  six  years. 
Mr.  Turpie  went  immediately  to  Washington,  where 
in  seven  weeks  he  made  perhaps  the  most  brilliant  record 
that  was  ever  made  in  the  United   States   Senate  in   so 
short  a  time.     Of  this  able  statesman,    Senator  Daniel 
W.    Voorhees    recently    sa;d    to    the    President,    when 
asked  by   him  who  Mr.  Turpie  of  Indiana  was,  ''Mr. 
Turpie  is  a  gentleman  to  whom   I   feel   like   apologizing 
whenever  I  meet  him."     "Why  so?"  asked  the  Presi 
dent.     "Because,"  answered   the    Senator,  with  a   wit 
worthy  of  Sir  Charles  Sedley,  but  a  generosity  of  senti 
ment  all  his  own,  "  I  am  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and 
he  is  not." 

The  career  of  Mr.  Hendricks  as  a  Senator  will  be  re 
served  for  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 


The  six  years  during  which  Mr.  Hendricks  occupied  a 
seat  in  the  Senate  were  among  the  most  momentous  in 
the  history  of  the  nation.  Questions  relating  to  the  sup 
port  of  vast  armies  and  the  conduct  of  a  great  war,  the 
restoration  of  insurrectionary  States  to  their  Federal  re 
lations,  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  im 
peachment  of  the  President  of  the  greatest  Republic  on 
earth — some  of  the  most  stupendous  questions  that  ever 
came  before  a  legislative  body— were  dealt  with  and  set 
tled.  It  will  be  impossible  to  give  in  a  single  chapter 
more  than  an  outline  of  Mr.  Hendricks's  career  as  a  Sen 
ator,  but  the  attempt  will  be  made  to  show  clearly  his  posi 
tion  on  important  measures,  using  his  own  words  when 
.available  for  the  purpose. 

On  the  call  of  the  roll  of  Senators  (March  6,  1863),  to 
take  the  oath  of  office,  Messrs.  Buckalew,  Hendricks, 
Johnson,  and  Wright  remained  in  their  seats.  Since  the 
last  ceremony  of  this  kind  had  taken  place,  a  new  and 
unusual  oath  had  been  prescribed  by  an  act  of  Congress 
of  July  2,  1862,  to  be  taken  by  all  civil  officials  of  the 
United  States,  and  it  was  this  test  oath  which  the  newly 
elected  Senators  were  called  upon  to  take  and  subscribe. 
After  those  who  went  forward  had  been  sworn,  Reverdy 
Johnson  of  Maryland,  a  man  of  earnest  patriotism,  rose 
and  said  that  while  he  had  no  objection  to  taking  the  oath 
prescribed,  yet  two  difficulties  occurred  to  him  :  accord 
ing  to  his  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  a  Senator  was 

-t  ^ 


17  (257) 


258  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

not  a  civil  officer  within  the  meaning  of  the  statute  ;  and,  in 
his  own  words,  "  The  only  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitu 
tion  is  an  oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  and  the  oath  re 
quired  by  this  act  is  an  oath  that  you  never  have  in  the  past 
violated  it,  so  that  it  concedes  in  point  of  fact  a  particular 
member  may  be  just  as  loyal  now  as  any  other  member  of 
the  body,  although  disloyal  in  the  past.  I  doubt  very 
much  the  authority  of  Congress  to  impose  a  restriction 
of  that  description,  which,  according  to  my  reading  of 
the  article,  is  inconsistent  with  the  mere  oath  which  the 
Constitution  prescribes." 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Johnson's  remarks,  Mr.  Hendricks 
said  :  "  I  desire  to  adopt  the  explanation  of  the  Senator 
from  Maryland,  and  with  that  explanation  I  will  take  the 
oath."  Thereupon,  Messrs.  Buckalew,  Hendricks,  John 
son,  and  Wright  went  forward  and  were  sworn. 

This  was  the  special  session  of  the  Senate,  held  for  the 
admission  of  new  members,  and  no  other  business  of  any 
importance  was  transacted.  The  Senate  adjourned  March 
I4th. 

The    War  Congress — 1863-5. 

On  January  16,  1864,  Senator  Hendricks  called  up  an 
amendment  he  had  previously  offered  to  the  enrollment 
act,  and  prefaced  a  brief  explanation  of  the  measure  with 
this  remark,  which  may  be  taken  as  the  key  to  his  posi 
tion  while  in  the  Senate,  in  reference  to  measures  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  war:  "  In  the  language  of  the  Sena 
tor  from  Massachusetts  [Sumner]  I  think  it  will  '  popu 
larize  '  the  bill  to  some  extent.  It  can  not  impair  the  ef 
ficiency  of  the  measure.  " 

Such  was  his  constant  endeavor — to  remove  from  the 
war  legislation  of  the  time  all  provisions  which  would 
inflict  unnecessary  hardship  upon  the  people  or  would 
press  with  unnecessary  weight  upon  their  financial  resour 
ces — "  to  popularize,"  but  never  to  impair  in  efficiency — , 
the  legitimate  measures  of  the  Government.  No  man 


THE    WAR    CONGRESS.  259 

knew  the  people  better  than  he,  no  man  knew  better 
the  Democratic  party.  He  deemed  it  wisdom  on  the 
part  of  the  majority  to  render  its  legislation  accept 
able,  as  far  as  possible,  to  men  of  all  parties ;  and 
he  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  as  a  member  of  the  minority 
to  point  out  to  those  in  power  every  improvement  of  which 
he  deemed  any  bill  susceptible,  and  to  induce  them  by 
argument  and  persuasion  to  accept  such  improvements. 
He  realized  the  importance  to  the  Government  of  the 
united  support  of  all  the  people  of  the  Union  States  ;  and 
no  one  regretted  more  than  he  the  harsh  repressive  meas 
ures  of  the  Administration — in  his  opinion,  equally  un 
called  for  and  illegal — which  had  alienated  from  it  so 
many  loyal  citizens.  He  wished  Democrats  as  well  as 
Republicans  to  be  permitted  to  be  patriotic. 

In  the  present  case  the  amendment  he  had  proposed 
seems  eminently  wise  and  humane,  explained  in  his  own 
words,  as  he  continued :  "As  there  may  be  some  Sena 
tors  present  who  were  not  present  when  this  amendment 
was  before  the  body  on  a  previous  day,  I  will  say  it  is 
simply  this :  that  the  military  force  shall  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  married  and  unmarried,  and  that  the  unmar 
ried  men  subject  to  do  military  duty  shall  be  drafted  be 
fore  there  shall  be  a  draft  of  the  married  men.  It  is  sug 
gested  by  a  Senator  near  me  that  it  might  require  a  re- 
enrollment.  In  reply  I  will  say  that  the  present  enroll 
ment  shows  who  are  married  and  who  are  unmarried, 
and  there  will  be  no  practical  difficulty  and  no  delay 
consequent  upon  the  adoption  of  this  measure." 

The  amendment  was  not  adopted,  but  among  the  twelve 
votes  recorded  in  its  favor  were  those  of  Doolittle,  Sum- 
ner,  and  Lane  of  Indiana,  all  Republicans. 

In  the  same  humane  spirit  he  objected  to  an  amend 
ment  offered  by  Lane,  providing  that  "  the  payment  of 
commutation  money  by  any  drafted  person  shall  not  op 
erate  to  release  the  State  in  which  he  was  drafted,  from 


260  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

filling  its  quota,"  on  the  ground  that  it  would  permit  the 
well-to-do  to  buy  off  and  leave  the  poor  only  subject  to 
the  draft.  "  Notwithstanding  the  Government  receives 
the  money,"  he  said,  "  we  throw  upon  the  truly  poor  men 
the  responsibility  to  furnish  men,  and  the  money  is  but  a 
revenue.  I  am  not  willing  to  vote  for  any  such  proposi 
tion,  and  I  suggest  to  Senators  that  it  will  subject  the 
measure  to  very  great  hostility  throughout  the  country." 

To  the  policy  of  this  and  all  other  acts  providing  for 
drafting  men  into  the  army  he  was  entirely  opposed, 
knowing  the  dislike  with  which  they  were  regarded  by 
the  people,  and  believing  that  drafted  men  never  make 
as  good  soldiers  as  volunteers.  He  thought  the  army 
could  easily  be  kept  filled  by  a  liberal  system  of  bounties, 
and  he  believed  that  such  a  system  would  be  cheaper  in 
the  end.  But  though  opposed  to  the  draft,  he  strove  to 
mitigate  its  hardships,  and  to  make  it  effective  by  ren 
dering  it  as  unobjectionable  as  possible. 

In  his  care  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  citizens 
under  the  Constitution,  no  detail  of  legislation  escaped 
Senator  Hendricks.  Thus  we  find  him  urging  that  in 
dictments  for  hindering  the  draft  be  limited  to  the  Circuit 
Court,  in  order  that  the  accused  might  have  an  appeal  to 
to  the  Supreme  Court.  He  said  :  4'  I  do  not  \vish  to  be 
understood  as  agreeing  that  we  can  confer  jurisdiction 
upon  the  United  States  Courts  of  the  crime  of  murder  in 
the  States,  but  if  we  attempt  to  do  it,  I  suggest  that  it 
ought  only  to  be  tried  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  ;  in  analogy  with  all  our  existing  laws  in  regard  to 
the  trial  of  capital  cases."  This  suggestion  was  accepted, 
and  the  bill  was  amended  accordingly. 

He  opposed  the  enlistment  of  colored  troops  on  the 
ground  mainly  that  such  a  measure  would  be  so  objec 
tionable  to  the  white  soldiers  as  seriously  to  weaken  the 
army,  and  to  that  effect  explained  his  vote  on  an  amend 
ment  offered  by  Doolittle,  saying: 


THE    WAR    CONGRESS.  261 

"  I  do  not  intend,  by  voting  in  favor  of  this  proposition 
as  I  shall  do,  to  say  that  I  agree  to  the  policy  that  colored 
troops  shall  be  enlisted  at  all ;  but  if  they  are  enlisted  they 
ought  to  go  to  the  credit  of  the  locality  in  which  they  are 
found.  And  here  I  desire  to  say  that  I  think  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts  is  mistaken  when  he  says  that  Massa 
chusetts  has  had  credit  only  for  enlistments  in  that  State. 
I  think  there  were  agents  of  that  State  in  Indiana,  and 
negro  troops  were  raised  in  Indiana  for  Massachusetts 
regiments.  So  I  have  understood." 

The  views  of  Doolittle  and  Hendricks  on  the  point  in 
volved  prevailed  and  became  part  of  the  law. 

If  the  buying-off  system  were  to  be  permitted,  he 
favored  a  scale  of  commutations  proportionate  to  the  prop 
erty  and  income  of  the  individual,  and  introduced  an 
amendment  embodying  this  principle.  At  this  juncture 
the  irrascible  Chandler  broke  forth  :  "If  you  want  men 
do  away  with  that  exemption  entirely,  and  have  your 
men  come  up  and  serve  or  furnish  substitutes.  I  am  op 
posed  to  this  whole  theory  of  commutation.  The  Gov 
ernment  wants  men  and  not  money.  It  will  get  no  men 
under  this  provision,  and  the  enemies  of  this  bill  will 
vote  for  this  amendment."  And  he  charged  that  the  en 
emies  of  the  bill  were  the  men  who  had  been  consuming 
day  after  day  and  week  after  week  in  talking  it  to  death, 
and  that  Doolittle  in  particular  came  under  that  category. 
To  that  charge  Mr.  Hendricks  was  not  liable.  He  was 
opposed  to  the  principle  of  the  bill,  but  his  was  not  a  fac 
tious  opposition.  He  had  not  consumed  the  time  of  the 
Senate  by  unnecessary  talk — a  thing  he  was  never  guilty 
of — and  his  amendments  and  criticisms  had  been  promp 
ted  by  the  single  desire  to  improve  the  measure.  When 
at  last  the  enrollment  was  returned  from  the  conference 
committee  of  the  House  and  Senate,  he  moved  that  the 
report  of  the  committee  be  printed  for  the  information  of 
Senators.  It  being  somewhat  unusual  to  print  such  re- 


202  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

ports,  the  insistant  majority  voted  down  his  motion,  and 
were  pressing  the  bill  to  a  final  vote.  But  he  again  rose, 
and  urged  the  very  great  importance  of  the  measure  and 
its  unusual  character,  and  with  the  consent  of  Wilson, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  secured  a  reconsideration 
of  the  vote  and  an  order  that  the  report  be  printed.  Such 
was  the  personal  popularity,  the  uniform  fairness,  and 
the  persuasive  power  of  Senator  Hendricks  that  he  had 
perhaps  more  influence  with  the  "  mad  majority  "  than 
any  other  Democrat  in  the.  Senate. 

His  popularity  with  his  brother  Senators  of  the  opposite 
party  (and  he  early  became  a  warm  friend  of  the  most 
gitted  among  them),  was  not  due  to  any  weakness  of  his 
political  principles,  or  any  hesitancy  in  speaking  out  his 
convictions.  Always  courteous  in  debate,  he  never  assailed 
an  opponent  with  personal  invective  or  abuse,  but  was 
ever  fearless  in  attacking  the  principles  and  measures  of 
the  majority.  Nor  did  he  ever  hesitate  to  defend  the 
past  history  and  present  position  of  the  Democratic  party, 
or  to  vindicate  it  from  the  charges  which  it  was  by  this 
time  the  policy  and  custom  of  Republicans  to  heap  upon 
it.  April  7,  1864,  he  said  : 

"  But,  sir,  I  claim  for  the  Democratic  party  that  it  did 
all  that  it  could  do  to  avoid  the  commencement  of  these 
hostilities.  *  *  The  Democrats  in  this  body  and  in 
the  other  House  did  all  in  their  power  to  adjust  the  differ 
ences  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and  to  avoid  the 
calamitous  war  that  has  'come  upon  the  country.  Can 
the  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  say  as  much  for  his 
party  ? 

"The  Senator  also  said  that  the  Democrats  were  in 
dulging  the  delusion  that  if  their  party  could  succeed 
they  might  bring  peace  and  prosperity  again  to  the  coun 
try.  Sir,  I  do  indulge  such  a  hope,  and  I  think  it  is  not 
a  delusion.  It  is  a  hope  based  upon  the  experience  of 
the  past.  *  *  The  Senator  referred  to  the  few  Demo- 


THE    WAR    CONGRESS.  263 

-cratic  Senators  in  this  body,  and  said  that  when  they 
spoke  it  was  '  like  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder 
ness.'  I  thank  the  Senator  for  the  illustration.  That  was 
the  voice  of  John  the  Baptist.  His  voice  was  to  prepare 
the  way  of  the  Lord  in  the  wilderness,  and  to  make 
straight  a  highway  in  the  desert.  If  it  should  be  the  for 
tune  of  the  few  Democrats  who  are  in  this  body,  and  of 
the  Democrats  in  the  country,  to  prepare  a  highway  in 
which  the  people  may  again  walk  in  prosperity  and 
union  and  harmony,  I  shall  rejoice  in  such  a  result." 

His  opinion  of  secession  was  the  opinion  of  Douglas 
and  the  Northern  Democracy.  He  said  : 

"  Secession  had  not  justification  in  the  fact  that  a 
Northern  party  succeeded,  and  that  a  sectional  President 
had  been  elected.  But  will  the  Senator  deny  that  if  a 
sectional  party  had  not  succeeded,  and  a  sectional  Pres 
ident  had  not  been  elected,  this  trouble  would  not  have 
come  upon  the  country?  While  I  do  not  justify  the  course 
that  has  been  pursued  by  the  South,  but  utterly  condemn 
and  repudiate  it,  I  say  that  if  a  sectional  policy  had  not 
been  pursued  on  the  part  of  the  North,  encouraged  and 
participated  in  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  in  the  South, 
we  need  not  have  had  the  present  troubles  which  are  so 
calamitous  to  the  country." 

Early  in  1864  the  radical  majority  had  determined  to 
abolish  slavery  by  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution. 
On  this  proposition  Mr.  Hendricks  said  (April  7th)  : 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  will  not  vote  for  the  resolution 
because  I  think  the  times  are  not  auspicious.  It  is  not  a 
favorable  time  for  us  to  lay  our  hand  upon  the  work  of 
the  fathers.  Our  Constitution  was  made  after  the  War  of 
the  Revolution  was  closed,  when  peace  had  returned, 
when  there  was  but  little  party  prejudice  and  strife  in  the 
country — a  timte  most  favorable  for  laying  the  foundations 
of  government.  Our  fathers  were  statesmen,  taught  in 


264  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

the  scenes  of  the  Revolution.  They  laid  the  foundations 
of  government ;  and,  for  myself,  I  am  not  willing  to  dis 
turb  them  in  these  times  of  excitement  and  strife.  Ought 
not  the  people  deliberately  to  consider  any  proposition 
for  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  ?  Ought  it  not  to  be 
considered  more  deliberately  than  any  ordinary  measure 
of  government  or  of  administration?  Sir,  what  is  our 
condition.?  We  are  in  a  state  of  war.  The  minds  of  the 
people  are  greatly  excited.  They  come  to  conclusions 
now  not  so  much  upon  reflection  and  argument  and  rea 
son  as  they  do  upon  the  passions  of  the  hour.  I  ask  Sen 
ators  whether  a  time  like  this  is  favorable  to  consider 
amendments  of  the  organic  law? 

"  Besides  that,  there  are  many  of  the  States  that  are 
especially  in  no  condition  to  consider  amendments  to  the 
Constitution.  *  *  Is  this  to  be  their  Constitution  as  well 
as  ours?  Is  this  to  be  a  Constitution  for  Louisiana  as  well 
as  Indiana,  for  Florida  as  well  as  New  Hampshire?  Then, 
sir,  if  it  is  to  be  their  great  law,  to  which  they  will  owe 
allegiance  and  render  obedience,  shall  they  not  be  in  a 
condition  to  consider  so  important  an  amendment  before 
it  is  proposed  to  them?  " 

Always  liberal  in  the  matter  of  appropriations  for  the 
war,  Senator  Hendricks  attempted,  April  22,  1864,  to- 
improve  the  condition  of  the  soldiers.  He  said : 

"  Very  many  of  the  soldiers  who  are  now  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States  enlisted  on  the  call  of  the  President, 
when  their  compensation  was  fifty  per  cent,  more  than  it 
now  is  ;  when  there  was  but  very  little  difference  between 
the  gold  and  silver  currency  of  the  country  and  the  paper 
currency.  But  the  depreciation  has  gone  on  until  that 
compensation  is  now  fifty  per  cent,  less  than  it  was,  and 
the  expense  of  maintaining  a  family  while  the  soldier  is 
in  the  army  is  also  largely  increased.  The  reason  there 
fore,  is  very  strong  in  favor  of  the  increase  of  the  com 
pensation  of  the  soldiers  and  non-commissioned  officers 


THE  WAR  CONGRESS. 

of  the  Army  of  the  United  States.  *  *  In  my  amend 
ment  I  propose  simply  that  the  pay  shall  be  increased 
from  this  day.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  following 
amendment  as  an  additional  section  to  the  bill : 

"And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  pay  of  the  soldiers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the  Army  of  the  United 
States  shall  hereafter  be  fifty  per  cent,  greater  than  is  now 
allowed  by  law. 

"  The  Senator  from  Maine  has  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  also 
to  say  that  I  had  said  that  I  was  in  favor  of  the  war,  but 
the  war  could  not  succeed.  I  will  ask  the  Senator  when 
he  heard  me  say  so." 

MR.  FESSENDEN.  "  I  did  not  undertake  to  repeat  the 
language  of  that  gentleman.  I  was  barely  repeating  the 
general  line  of  argument  on  the  other  side  of  the  House." 

MR.  HENDRICKS.  "  I  should  be  obliged  to  the  Senator 
to  say  if  he  has  heard  any  Democratic  Senator  say  that 
at  this  session." 

MR.  FESSENDEN.  "  I  think  I  have.  It  is  my  very  strong 
impression.  I  will  not  undertake  to  designate." 

MR.  HENDRICKS.  "The  Senator  has  heard  no  such 
words  from  me  ;  he  has  heard  no  such  sentiment  from 
me,  nothing  bordering  on  it. 

"  He  also  suggested  that  I  was  in  favor  of  the  subjuga 
tion  of  the  South,  but  thought  they  could  not  be  subju 
gated.  I  do  not  know  what  the  Senator  means  by 
"  subjugation,"  sir.  If  he  means  that  I  am  in  favor,  with 
all  the  earnestness  of  my  nature,  of  a  restoration  of  this 
Union,  upon  the  basis  of  the  Constitution,  he  speaks  cor 
rectly.  If  he  means  to  say  that  I  am  in  favor  of  the  de 
struction  and — to  use  the  language  that  has  been  uttered 
in  another  branch  of  the  Congress — of  the  devastation 
of  the  South,  I  am  not  in  favor  of  that.  I  am  in  favor 
of  the  prosecution  of  this  war  upon  such  a  policy  as  will 
secure  a  return  of  the  Southern  people,  that  there  maybe 
prosperity  and  greatness  there  to  support  the  prosperity 


266  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

and  greatness  and  enterprise  of  the  North  at  the  same 
time." 

On  December  4,  1884,  in  an  address  at  Indianapolis  to 
a  meeting  of  veteran  soldiers,  Mr.  Hendricks  said  : 

"To  opposition  to  the  drait  I  must  certainly  plead 
guilty.  I  did  not  regard  the  draft  as  a  reliable  support 
of  the  army.  Prior  to  that  time  125,000  men  had  been 
drafted,  6,000  had  entered  service  under  the  draft,  10,000 
substitutes  were  furnished,  and  20,000  were  induced  to 
volunteer  by  the  bounties.  The  draft  of  125,000  resulted 
in  36,000  soldiers  in  the  field.  *  * 

"  On  the  23d  of  April,  1864,  l  offered  an  amendment 
to  the  Appropriation  bill,  to  increase  the  pay  of  the  sol 
diers  and  non-commissioned  officers  reasonably  in  pro 
portion  to  the  then  depreciated  condition  of  the  currency. 
I  thought  that  proposition  was  an  encouragement  to  the 
army  and  to  enlistments  ;  and  I  may  say  that  Colonel 
Lane,  then  my  colleague  in  the  Senate,  voted  with  me  on 
that  subject.  On  the  same  day  I  voted  for  the  great  Ap 
propriation  bill— I  believe  the  largest  Appropriation  bill 
ever  passed  by  this  Government— voting  $530,000,000 ; 
and  it  was  under  that  appropriation  that  the  army  was 
carried  to  the  end  of  the  war,  that  many  of  the  battles 
were  fought,  that  Sherman  marched  to  the  sea,  and  that 
the  surrender  was  made  to  Grant." 

The  above  extracts  are  all  that  space  allows  to  illustrate 
Senator  Hendricks's  views  during  the  war;  which  were, 
in  brief,  that  the  Government  should  receive  a  liberal 
and  loyal  support  in  all  measures  for  suppressing  the  re 
bellion,  but  should  be  held  strictly  within  the  constitu 
tional  limits  of  its  powers. 

Socially  Mr.  Hendricks  was  on  terms  of  cordial  friend 
ship  with   many  of  the  leaders  whom  he  opposed  most 
constantly  in  the  Senate,  and  his  admiration  and  regard  " 
for  Mr.  Sumner  were  warmly  reciprocated  by  that  dis 
tinguished  statesman. 


THE  WAR  CONGRESS.  267 

His  appreciation  of  Mr.  Lincoln  grew  into  a  sentiment 
of  affectionate  reverence,  as  in  frequent  visits  to  the 
White  House  he  came  to  understand  the  massive  virtue 
and  single-minded  patriotism  of  the  great  President. 
On  the  adjournment  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  be 
fore  starting  for  Indianapolis,  he  called  on  the  President 
to  say  good-bye.  A  pleasant  interview  occurred,  with 
expressions  of  mutual  good  will  and  wishes  for  each 
other's  health  and  welfare  during  the  summer,  and  of  joy 
at  the  probable  return  of  peace.  At  parting  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  : 

"  We  have  differed  in  politics,  Senator  Hendricks,  but 
you  have  uniformly  treated  my  administration  with  fair 
ness.  Presently  there  will  be  no  differences  between  us." 
Then  taking  his  arm  and  leading  him  to  a  window  over 
looking  the  Potomac,  the  President  continued  :  "  Within 
a  few  months  there  is  to  be  such  universal  good  feeling 
over  there  that  it  will  bring  us  all  together." 

In  view  of  such  an  expression,  how  shocking,  how  dis 
graceful  to  the  city  and  State,  was  the  scene  which  must 
now  be  described  !  On  receipt  of  the  dreadful  news  of 
the  President's  assassination,  a  meeting  of  the  Indiana 
polis  bar  was  held,  to  take  appropriate  action  on  the  sad 
event.  Many  speeches  were  made,  and  among  them  one 
by  Senator  Hendricks — an  eloquent  and  feeling  tribute 
to  the  dead  President's  virtues  and  fame.  At  the  close  of 
this  meeting,  Mr.  Hendricks,  Mr.  Joseph  E.  McDonald 
and  Major  Jonathan  W.  Gordon  repaired  together  to  the 
office  of  the  Governor,  to  take  part,  by  invitation,  in  a 
mass  meeting  of  citizens.  The  Governor  conducted  them 
to  the  speakers'  stand,  which  had  been  erected  near  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  State  House.  Around  the  stand 
in  the  capital  square  and  streets  was  a  dense  crowd,  per 
haps  numbering,  it  is  said,  ten  thousand  persons,  with 
several  regiments  of  soldiers  in  line.  Speeches  were 


268 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 


made  by  Governor  Morton  and  ex-Governor  Wright. 
Mr.  Hendricks  then  rose  and  began  to  speak  in  the  same 
strain  he  had  followed  at  the  bar  meeting,  repeating 
some  of  the  very  sentences  of  that  well  considered  ad 
dress.  Presently  the  crowd  was  stirred  with  unaccount- 
ble  fury,  and  the  miscreant  rabble  element  rushed 
coward  the  speaker,  brandishing  weapons,  with  cries 
of,  "Kill  him!1'  "Hang  him!"  "Don't  let  the  traitor 
speak  !  "  "  Pull  him  down  !  "  and  other  shrieks  of  dread 
ful  menace.  Terror  smote  his  friends,  and  many  thought 
that  the  blood  of  a  Senator  would  be  added  to  the  horrid 
murders  which  the  partisan  frenzy  of  that  time  had  com  - 
mitted.  Governor  Morton  sprang  to  his  feet.  General 
Stevens  sped  toward  the  troops.  The  Governor  raised 
his  hand,  and  with  his  terrible  eye  and  ringing  voice, 
commanded  and  besought,  and  quelled  the  crowd.  But 
the  uproar  lasted  many  minutes  ;  to  some  it  seemed  hours. 
During  this  time  Mr.  Hendricks  stood  in  his  place,  and, 
says  Major  Gordon,  "  Neither  tremor  or  pallor  indicated 
the  slightest  fear.  His  courage  was  like  Othello's  sword 
—of  the  ice  brook's  temper."  When  quiet  was  restored 
the  speaker  continued,  without  going  back  or  repeating 
a  word,  from  the  point  where  he  had  stopped,  and  closed 
with  this  fearless  pledge :  "And  I  too  will  support  his 
successor  just  as  far  as  I  can,  always  saving  my  con 
science  void  of  offense."  At  the  end  of  the  speech  he 
made  his  way,  accompanied  by  Major  Gordon,  to  his 
office.  To  the  Major's  question  whether  he  had  arms, 
he  said,  "  No,  I  never  carry  them." 

In  July,  1865  Senator  Hendricks  visited  Minnesota. 
The  Common  Council  and  the  citizens  of  St.  Paul  ten 
dered  him  a  banquet,  on  the  5th,  in  recognition  of  his 
services  to  their  city  and  State.  The  feast  was  spread  at 
the  International  Hotel.  Mayor  Prince  presented  the 
city's  guest  in  the  following  words : 

"  Gentlemen — I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  to  you  our 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    CONGRESS.  269 

distinguished  guest,  Senator  Hendricks,  of  Indiana, 
a  gentleman  who,  as  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  and  subsequently  as  United  States  Senator,  has 
proved  himself  to  be  the  warm  supporter  and  advocate 
of  the  interests  of  our  State.  With  a  just  appreciation 
of  the  commanding  geographical  position  of  Minnesota, 
and  of  her  other  great  natural  advantages,  he  has  gen 
erously  labored  for  her  benefit.  And  we  are  assembled 
this  evening,  at  the  invitation  of  the  City  Council,  to  wel 
come  him  as  a  visitor  among  us  and  to  give  expression  to 
the  grateful  recognition,  which  we  all  entertain,  of  his 
good  offices.  His  name  \vill  be  associated  with  the  history 
of  Minnesota  as  one  of  her  best  and  truest  friends." 

The  reply  of  Senator  Hendricks  was  eloquent  and  ap 
propriate,  and  elicited  universal  praise  throughout  the 
Northwest. 

The  Reconstruction   Congress — 1865-7. 

With  the  commencement  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress 
begins  the  baleful  "Era  of  Reconstruction."  It  will  be 
remembered  that  when  President  Lincoln  was  elected 
in  1860  by  a  plurality  vote,  through  the  division  of  the 
majority  party,  the  Republicans  were  in  the  minority  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress.  It  was  only  through  the 
wholesale  resignations  of  members  from  the  seceding 
States  that  the  minority  in  Congress  became  the  majority 
in  that  body.  In  the  North  the  Republicans  formed  the 
more  numerous  party  of  citizens  ;  in  the  Republic  at  large 
they  were  greatly  outnumbered.  During  the  four  years 
of  conflict,  partisanship  \vas  largely  forgotten  in  the  North, 
and  in  the  purpose  of  suppressing  the  insurrection  the 
people  were  practically  a  unit.  But  during  the  four 
years  of  conflict  the  question  must  often  have  occurred 
to  the  politicians  of  the  dominant  faction,  What  of  the 
future?  It  was  not  likely  that  such  opportunities  for  the 
success  of  a  minority  as  those  of  '60  and  '64  would  pre- 


270 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 


sent  themselves  again  in  a  century.  When  the  seats  of 
the  resigned  Senators  and  Representatives  should  again 
be  filled,  the  control  of  legislation  would  return  to  the 
majority. 

The  year  '65  witnessed   the  conclusion  of  the  war,  and 
'he  triumph  of  the  Union.     It  was  worth  all  the  blood 
that  had  been  spilt,  and  all  the  treasure  that  had  been 
poured  out  for  its  accomplishment ;  and  the  hearts  of  the 
people  were  filled  with  joy  unspeakable  and  with  praise 
to  Jehovah   for  the  preservation   of  their  beloved  land. 
'  With  this  joy  was  mingled  untold  sorrow  for  the  tragic 
death  of  the  brave,  true-hearted  Lincoln,  who  had  pur 
posed  to  be  not  the  sectional  head  of  a  sectional  party, 
but  the  President  of  the  whole  people,  "with  malice  to 
ward  none,  with  charity  for  all,"  and  with  the  avowed 
intention  of  restoring  the  Union  and  upholding  the  Con 
stitution.     In  his  chair  now  sat  the  bold  and  fearless  man 
of  the  people,  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee.     Strong 
willed  as  Jackson,  and  equally  imbued  with  devotion  to 
the  Union  and  the  Constitution,  he  had  in  the  interval  of 
Congress  exerted  himself  to  secure  the  restoration  of  the 
unrepresented  States   to   full  and  normal  relations  with 
the  Federal  Government. 

The  Thirty-ninth  Congress  convened  on  the  4th  of 
December,  1865.  The  chief  interest  centered  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  which  is  organized  anew  with 
each  Congress;  while  the  Senate,  being  a  permanently 
organized  body,  simply  receives  new  members. 

In  the  House  were  assembled  at  the  opening  all  the 
Congressmen  elect.  The  clerk  of  the  House  of  the  last 
preceding  Congress— Edward  McPherson— struck  the 
gavel  and  began  to  call  the  roll  of  members  elect,  ac 
cording  to  the  unvarying  custom  of  opening.  In  doing 
so  he  arbitrarily  omitted  the  call  of  eleven  States.  Mr. 
Maynard,  of  Tennessee,  twice  arose  to  speak,  but  was 
not  recognized.  There  was  no  "Old  Man  Eloquent" 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  CONGRESS.          271 

then  to  pour  out  his  vials  of  wrath  and  scorn  upon  the 
"mere  clerk"  of  the  House  and  take  the  floor,  as  in 
1839.  But  while  the  motion  to  elect  a  Speaker  was  pend 
ing,  Mr.  James  Brooks,  of  New  York,  rose  and  said: 

"  I  trust  that  we  shall  not  proceed  to  any  revolutionary 
step — any  step  like  that,  without  at  least  hearing  from 
the  honorable  gentleman  from  Tennessee.  If  Tennessee 
is  not  in  the  Union,  by  what  right  does  the  President  of 
the  United  States  usurp  his  place  in  the  White  House, 
when  an  alien  and  a  foreigner,  and  not  from  a  State  in 
the  Union?" 

Interrupted  by  the  stentorian  voice  of  Mr.  Wentworth, 
of  Illinois,  and  called  to  order,  he  was  permitted  by  the 
grace  of  the  gifted  clerk  to  proceed. 

"If  he  is  not  a  loyal  man,  and  is  not  from  a  State  in 
this  Union,  what  man,  then,  is  loyal?  In  the  darkest  and 
most  doubtful  period  of  the  war,  when  an  exile  from  his 
own  State,  I  heard  his  eloquent  voice  on  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  arousing  the  people  of  my  own  State  to 
discharge  their  duty  to  the  country." 

It  was  of  no  avail.  The  plain,  unmistakable  guaranty 
of  the  Constitution  giving  to  each  State  its  due  represen 
tation  in  Congress,  in  terms  which  the  simplest  could 
understand  —  without  qualification,  without  restriction, 
without  exception — were  not  regarded  by  the  clerk,  and  it 
was  evident  that  the  Representatives  of  the  majority  in 
the  Union  could  not  control  the  House  without  a  bloody 
struggle,  the  end  of  which  no  man  could  foresee. 

The  organization  of  the  House  proceeded.  Soon  after, 
Mr.  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania,  offered  the  following  res 
olution,  which  was  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  By  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
in  Congress  assembled,  that  a  joint  committee  of  fif 
teen  members  shall  be  appointed,  nine  of  whom  shall  be 
members  of  the  House  and  six  members  of  the  Senate, 


272  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

who  shall  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the  States  which 
formed  the  so-called  Confederate  States  of  America,  and 
report  whether  they  or  any  of  them  are  entitled  to  be  rep 
resented  in  either  House  of  Congress,  with  leave  to  re 
port  at  any  time  by  bill  or  otherwise  ;  and  until  such  re 
port  shall  have  been  made,  and  finally  acted  upon  by 
Congress,  no  member  shall  be  received  into  either  House 
from  any  of  the  said  so-called  Confederate  States;  and 
all  papers  relating  to  the  representation  of  the  said  States 
.shall  be  referred  to  the  said  committee  without  debate." 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  crowded,  excited  House 
was  the  scene  presented  in  the  Senate  on  that  eventful 
morning.  With  quiet  dignity  the  old  members  took  their 
accustomed  seats.  In  the  chair  of  the  President  sat  Sen 
ator  LaFayette  S.  Foster,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  been 
chosen  President  of  the  Chamber, "during  the  temporary 
absence  of  Vice  President  Johnson,  in  the  former  session. 
The  committees  were  announced  on  the  third  day.  Mr, 
Hendricks  was  appointed  to  a  place  on  the  Committee  on 
the  Judiciary,  an  exceptionally  strong  one,  of  which  Sen 
ator  Doolittle,  of  Wiscousin,  spoke  the  following  eulogy: 

"From  its  very  organization  the  Senate  designs  to 
make  that  committee  its  constitutional  adviser — not  that 
its  opinions  are  to  be  conclusive  or  controling  on  the  vote 
of  any  member  of  this  body,  like  the  opinons  of  the  bench 
of  Judges  in  the  House  of  Lords  ;  but  its  members  are 
chosen  in  consideration  of  their  high  professional  ability, 
their  long  experience,  and  well  known  standing  as  jur 
ists,  in  order  that  their  report  upon  constitutional  ques 
tions  maybe  entitled  to  the  highest  consideration.  And, 
sir,  if  you  look  into  the  organization  of  the  Judiciary  Com 
mittee  appointed  by  the  Senate  at  the  present  session, 
what  is  it?  "  Here  followed  a  mention  of  each  member — 
Trumbull,  of  Illinois  ;  Harris,  of  New  York;  Poland,  of 
Vermont ;  Clark,  of  New  Hampshire ;  Stewart,  of  Ne- 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    CONGRESS.  273 

vada  ;  and  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  "  each  of  whom  stands 
eminent  in  the  profession  in  the  State  he  represents,  and 
all  of  whom  are  recognized  here  as  among  the  ablest 
jurists  of  this  body." 

The  House  joint  resolution  of  Mr.  Wade  had  been 
presented  to  the  Senate  on  the  preceding  day—the  second 
of  the  session.  How  this  measure  was  reconciled  in  the 
minds  of  its  supporters  with  the  constitutional  provision 
that  "  each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  re 
turns  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,"  does  not 
appear.  The  resolution  was  amended  in  the  Senate  by 
striking  out  all  the  words  after  otherwise— -an  amendment 
in  which  the  House  subsequently  concurred.  Senator 
Hendricks  spoke  upon  this  resolution  as  follows  : 

"  I  shall  vote  against  this  resolution,  because  it  refers 
to  a  joint  committee,  a  subject  which,  according  to  my 
judgment,  belongs  exclusively  to  the  Senate.  I  know 
that  the  resolution  no  longer  provides  in  express  terms 
that  the  Senate,  pending  the  continuance  of  the  investi 
gation  of  this  committee,  will  not  consider  the  question 
of  credentials  from  these  States  ;  but  in  effect  it  amounts 
to  that.  The  question  is  to  be  referred  to  the  committee, 
and  according  to  usage,  and  it  would  seem  to  be  the  very 
purpose  of  reference  that  the  body  shall  not  consider  the 
subject  while  the  question  is  before  them.  I  would  not 
vote  for  a  resolution  that  refers  to  a  joint  committee  a 
subject  that  this  body  alone  can  decide.  If  there  are 
credentials  presented  here,  this  body  must  decide  the 
question  whether  the  person  presenting  the  credentials  is 
entitled  to  a  seat ;  and  how  can  this  body  be  influenced 
by  any  committee  -other  than  a  committee  that  it  shall 
itself  raise  ?" 

Mr.  Hendricks  and  ten  others  voted  against  the  reso 
lution,  which,  however,  was  adopted  by  both  Houses 
18 


274  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

'On  the  i8th  of  January  Senator  Stewart,  of  Nevada,, 
spoke  ostensibly  upon  the  new  Freedmen's  Bureau  bill^ 
but  really  upon  Reconstruction  and  Negro  suffrage.  The 
new  bill  was  a  monstrosity  which  had  not  been  dreamed 
of  in  the  time  of  actual  war.  Its  provisions  extended 
even  to  Northern  States  ;  it  created  an  army  of  new  of 
ficers,  at  enormous  expense,  and  armed  them  with  almost 
absolute  power.  Calmly,  dispassionately,  Senator  Hen- 
dricks  reviewed  the  measure,  next  day,  in  a  masterly 
address,  from  which  a  few  brief  extracts  are  given  be 
low. 

"I  hear  Senators  speak  very  frequently  of  the  neces 
sity  of  economy  and  retrenchment.  Is  this  a  specimen, 
increasing  the  number  of  officers  almost  without  limit 
and  increasing  the  expenditures?  I  think  one  might  be 
safe  in  saying  that  if  this  bill  passes  we  may  not  expect 
to  get  through  a  year  with  less  than  $20,000,000  of 
expenditure  of  this  Bureau.  But  that  is  a  mere  opinion  ; 
for  no  man  can  tell  until  we  have  the  number  of  officers 
that  are  to  be  appointed  under  the  bill  prescribed  in  the 
bill  itself,  and  this  section  leaves  the  largest  discretion  to- 
the  Bureau  in  the  appointment  of  officers.  I  appeal  to 
Senators  to  know  whether,  at  this  time,  when  we  ought 
to  adopt  a  system  of  retrenchment  and  reform,  they  are 
willing  to  pass  a  bill  which  will  so  largely  increase  the 
public  expenditures.  *  *  * 

"Then,  sir,  when  this  army  of  officers  has  been  organ 
ized,  the  bill  provides— 'And  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  through  the  War  Department  and  the  Commis 
sioner,  shall  extend  military  jurisdiction  and  protection 
over  all  employes,  agents  and  officers. of  this  Bureau.' 

"Will  some  Senator  be  good  enough  to  tell  me  what 
that  means  ?  If  Indiana  be  declared  a  State  within  which 
are  found  refugees  and  freedmen  who  have  escaped  from 
the  Southern  States,  and  if  Indiana  has  a  Commissioner 
appointed  to  her,  and  if  in  each  county  of  Indiana  there 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    CONGRESS.  275 

be  a  Sub-Commissioner  at  a  salary  of  $1,500  a  year,  with 
two  clerks  with  a  salary  of  $1,200  each,  and  then  the  War 
Department  throws  over  this  little  army  of  office-holders 
in  the  State  of  Indiana  its  protection,  what  does  that  mean? 
The  people  of  Indiana  have  been  ground  hard  under  mil 
itary  authority  and  power  within  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  but  it  was  borne  because  it  was  hoped  that  when 
the  war  would  be  closed  the  military  power  would  be  with 
drawn  from  the  State.  Under  this  bill  it  may  be  estab 
lished  permanently  upon  the  people  by  a  body  of  men 
protected  by  the  military  power  of  the  Government.  An 
officer  is  appointed  to  the  State  of  Indiana  to  regulate  the 
contracts  made  between  the  white  people  and  the  colored 
people  of  that  State  ;  and  because  he  holds  this  office,  not 
military  in  its  character,  involving  no  military  act  what 
ever,  the  military  throws  over  him  its  iron  shield  of  pro 
tection.  What  does  that  mean?  If  this  officer  shall  do 
a  great  wrong  or  outrage  to  one  of  the  people,  and  the 
wronged  citizen  appeals  to  the  court  for  his  redress  and 
brings  his  suit  for  damages,  does  the  protecting  shield  of 
the  War  Department  prevent  the  prosecution  of  that  suit 
and  the  recovery  of  a  judgment?  What  is  the  protection 
that  is  thrown  over  this  army  of  office-holders?  Let  it  be 
explained. 

"  The  fourth  resolution,  as  amended,  provides  for  the 
setting  apart  of  three  million  acres  of  public  lands  in  the 
States  of  Florida,  Mississippi  and  Arkansas  for  homes  for 
the  colored  people.  I  believe  that  is  the  only  provision 
of  the  bill  in  which  I  concur.  I  concur  in  what  was  said 
by  some  Senator  yesterday,  that  it  is  desirable^  if  we 
ever  expect  to  do  anything  substantially  for  the  colored 
people,  to  encourage  them  to  obtain  homes ;  and  I  am 
willing  to  vote  for  a  reasonable  appropriation  for  the  pub 
lic  lands  for  that  purpose.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  occupy 
time  in  discussing  that  section.  *  * 

"  I  regard  it  as  very  dangerous  legislation.     It  pro- 


276  UNITED.  STATES    SENATOR. 

poses  to  establish  a  government  within  a  government — 
not  a  republic  within  a  republic,  but  a  cruel  despotism 
within  a  republic.  In  times  of  peace,  in  communities 
that  are  quiet  and  orderly  and  obedient  to  law,  it  is  pro 
posed  to  establish  a  government  not  responsible  to  the 
people,  the  officers  of  which  are  nof  selected  by  the  peo 
ple,  the  officers  of  which  need  not  be  of  the  people  gov 
erned — a  government  more  cruel,  more  despotic,  more 
dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  people  than  that  against 
which  our  forefathers  fought  in  the  Revolution.  There 
is  nothing  that  these  men  may  not  do,  under  this  bill,  to 
oppress  the  people. 

"  What  relation  do  we  desire  that  the  people  of  the 
North  shall  sustain  toward  these  people  of  the  South — 
one  of  harmony  and  accord,  or  of  strife  and  ill  will?  Do 
we  want  to  restore  commerce  and  trade  with  them,  that 
we  shall  prosper  thereby  as  well  as  they,  or  do  we  wish 
permanent  strife  and  division?  I  want  this  to  be  a  Union 
in  form,  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
in  fact  by  the  harmony  of  the  people  of  the  North  and 
South.  I  believe,  as  Gen.  Grant  says,  that  this  Bureau, 
especially  with  the  enlarged  powers  that  we  propose  to 
confer  upon  it,  will  not  be  an  instrument  of  concord  and 
harmony,  but  will  be  one  of  discord  and  strife  in  that 
section  of  the  country.  It  can  do  no  good,  but  in  my 
judgment  will  do  much  harm." 

Against  this  bill  were  recorded  the  votes  of  Senator 
Hendricks  and  nine  others.  In  the  House  it  was  op 
posed  by  thirty-three  members,  after  some  amendments 
were  made.  It  was  then  re-amended  by  the  Senate. 
The  House  concurred,  and  it  was  passed.  It  was  promptly 
vetoed  by  the  President,  and  an  effort  to  pass  it  over  the 
President's  veto  failed. 

The  Civil  Rights  bill  came  next  into  prominence.  It 
was  avowedly  based  upon  the  old  fugitive  slave  law,  in 
all  provisions  relating  to  the  enforcement  of  the  act,  it 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    CONGRESS.  277 

being  the  "  happy  thought"  to  thus  compel 'an  acknowl 
edgment  of  its  constitutionality  from  the  Democrats. 
This  was  the  very  feature  to  which  Senator  Hendricks, 
most  pointedly  objected  :  and  he  moved  to  strike  out  the 
clause  providing  that  "  such  part  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces  of  the  United  States  or  of  the  militia"  as  should 
be  deemed  necessary  might  be  employed  in  the  enforce 
ment  of  the  proposed  law.  He  said  : 

"  Sir,  what  is  this  bill?  It  provides  in  the  first  place 
that  the  civil  rights  of  all  men,  without  regard  to  color, 
shall  be  equal ;  and  in  the  second  place,  that  if  any  man 
shall  violate  that  principle  by  his  conduct,  he  shall  be  re 
sponsible  to  the  court,  that  he  may  be  prosecuted  crim 
inally  and  punished  for  the  crime,  or  he  may  be  sued  in 
a  civil  action  and  damages  may  be  recovered  by  the  party 
wronged.  Is  not  that  broad  enough?  Do  Senators  want 
to  go  further  than  this?  To  recognize  the  civil  rights  of 
the  colored  people  as  equal  to  the  civil  rights  of  the  white 
people,  I  understand  to  be  as  far  as  Senators  desire  to  go. 
In  the  language  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr. 
Sumner],  to  place  all  men  on  an  equality  before  the  law ; 
and  that  is  proposed  in  regard  to  their  civil  rights.  *  * 

"  I  recollect  how  the  blood  of  the  people  was  made  to 
run  cold  within  them  when  it  was  said  that  the  white  man 
was  required  to  run  after  the  fugitive  slave.  The  law  of 
'50  made  you  and  me,  my  brother  Senators,  slave  catch 
ers  ;  that  the  posse  commitatus  could  be  called  to  execute 
a  writ  of  the  law,  for  the  recovery  of  a  runaway  slave, 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States ;  and  the  whole  country  was  agitated  because  of 
it.  Now  slavery  is  gone.  The  negro  is  to  be  established 
upon  a  platform  of  civil  equality  with  the  white  man. 
That  is  the  proposition.  But  we  do  not  stop  there  ;  we 
are  to  re-enact  a  law  that  nearly  all  of  you  said  was 
wicked  and  wrong — and  for  what  purpose?  Not  to  pur 
sue  the  negro  any  longer  ;  not  for  the  purpose  of  catch- 


278  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

ing  the  great  criminals  of  the  land ;  but  for  the  purpose 
of  placing  it  in  the  power  of  any  Deputy  Marshal  in  any 
county  of  the  country  to  call  upon  you  and  me  and  all 
the  body  of  the  people  to  pursue  some  white  man  who 
is  running  for  his  liberty  because  some  negro  has  charged 
him  with  denying  him  equal  civil  rights  with  the  white 
man.  I  thought,  sir,  that  that  frame  work  was  enough. 
I  thought  when  you  placed  under  the  command  of  the 
Marshal  in  every  county  of  the  land  all  the  people,  and 
put  every  one  upon  the  track  of  the  fleeing  white  man, 
that  that  was  enough  ;  but  it  is  not.  For  the  purpose  of 
the  enforcement  of  this  law  the  President  is  authorized 
to  appoint  somebody  who  is  to  have  the  command  of  the 
military  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States — for  what 
purpose?  " 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  a  bitter  necessity  in  former 
days,  because  required  by  the  Constitution,  was  called 
up  to  justify  this  most  unconstitutional  enactment.  As  a 
joke  it  lacked  the  relevancy  to  make  it  humorous,  for 
the  precedent  in  no  wise  applied.  But  it  was  not  a  piece 
of  pleasantry.  It  was  a  terrible  fact — hideous,  soulless, 
horrid.  Twelve  votes  were  recorded  against  the  bill  in 
the  Senate.  In  the  House  it  was  amended,  and  it  passed 
through  Congress  on  the  i5th  of  March,  '66.  On  the 
27th  it  was  returned  with  the  President's  veto.  It  was 
passed  over  the  veto  on  the  pth  of  April. 

Following  this  success,  a  second  Freedmen's  Bu 
reau  bill  was  presented  in  the  House,  May  22d.  In  the 
Senate  Mr.  Hendricks  made  an  ineffectual  effort  to 
amend  it  so  as  to  relieve  it  of  its  unconstitutional  features. 
It  finally  passed  both  Houses,  and  was  vetoed  by  the 
President  on  the  i6th  of  July;  Mr.  Hendricks  supported 
the  President  in  an  eloquent  speech,  but  was  unable  to 
prevent  its  passage  over  the  veto,  which  was  effected  ere 
the  close  of  the  session. 

Meanwhile  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution 


THE  RECONSTRUCTION  CONGRESS.          279 

•(i3th  Amendment)  received  attention.  This  was  to  effect 
a  change  in  the  basis  of  representation  of  the  States  in 
Congress.  Singularly  enough,  it  did  not  propose  either 
citizenship  or  population  as  a  basis  for  the  whole  country. 
Practically  the  new  basis  was  to  be  population  in  the 
populous  North,  and  citizenship  in  the  South,  where  the 
citizens,  under  the  law,  were  fewer  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  Northern  States  might  continue  to  limit  the 
suffrage  by  property  and  residence  qualifications;  the 
South  must  not  limit  it  to  the  white  population  without 
losing  a  proportionate  representation  in  Congress.  Sen 
ator  Hendricks  spoke  against  the  measure  as  follows : 

6 'Upon  what  principle  do  Senators  propose  to  adopt 
this  amendment  to  the  Constitution?     I  can  understand 
it  if  you  say  that  they  shall  be  represented  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  upon  their  population  ;  I  can  under 
stand  it  if  you  say  that  they  shall   be  represented  upon 
their  voters  ;  but  when  you  say  that  one  State  shall  have 
the  benefit  of  its  non- voting  population  and  another  State 
shall  not,  I   can  not  understand  the  principle  of  equity 
and  justice  which  governs  you  in  that  measure.     Sir,  if  it 
does  not  stand  upon  a  principle,  upon  what -does  it  rest? 
It  rests  upon  a  political  policy.     A  committee  that  had  its 
birth  in  a  party  caucus  brings  it  before  this  body,  and 
does  not  conceal  the  fact  that  it  is  for  party  purposes. 
This  measure,  if  you  ever  allow  the  Southern  States  to 
be  represented   in    the    House   of  Representatives,    will 
bring  them  back  shorn  of  fifteen  or  twenty  Representa 
tives.     It  will  bring  them  back  so  shorn  in  their  represen 
tation  that  the  Republican  party  can  control  this  country 
forever.     And  if  you  cut  off  from   fifteen  to  thirty  votes 
for  President  of  the  United  States  in  the  States  that  will 
not  vote  for  a  Republican  candidate,  it  may  be  that  you 
can  elect  a  Republican  President  in  1868.     *     * 

"  I  think  this  proposition  was  designed  to  accomplish 
three  objects :     First,  to  perpetrate  the  rule  and  power 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 


of  a  political  party ;  in  the  second  place,  it  is  a  proposi 
tion  the  tendency  of  which  is  to  place  agriculture  under 
the  control  of  manufactures  and  commerce  forever ;  and 
in  the  third  place,  it  is  intended,  I  believe,  as  a  punish 
ment  upon  the  Southern  States. 

"  Now  that  the  war  is  over,  now  that  the  Southern  peo 
ple  have  laid  down  their  arms,  now  that  they  have  sought, 
to  come  again  fully  and  entirely  into  the  Union,  now  that 
they  have  pledged  their  honor  and  their  fortunes  to  be 
true  to  the  Union   and  to  the  flag,  now  that  they  have 
done  all  that  can  be  done  by  a  conquered  people— is  it 
right,  after  a  war  has  been  fought  out,  for  us  to  take  from 
them  their  political  equality  in    this  Union,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  punishment?   The  Senator  from  Maine,  the  chair 
man  of  the  committee,  says  that  the  right  to  control  the 
suffrage  is  with  the  States,  but  if  the  States  do  not  choose 
to  do  right  in  respect  to  it,  we  propose  to  punish  them. 
You  do  not  punish  New  York  for  not  letting  the  foreigner 
vote  until  he  resides  there  a  certain  period.     You  do  not 
punish  Indiana  because  she  will  not  allow  a  foreigner  to 
vote  until   he  has  been  in  the  country  a  year.     Those 
States  are  not  to  be  punished  because  they  regulate  the 
elective  franchise  according  to  their  sovereign  pleasure  ; 
but  if  any  other  States  see  fit  to  deny  the  right  of  voting 
to  a  class  that  is  peculiarly  guarded  and  taken  care  of 
here,  then  they  are  to  be  punished." 

On  the  last  day  of  the  session  the  State  of  Tennessee 
was  fully  represented  in  Congress,  Senator  Patterson  be 
ing  on  that  day  seated,  his  colleague  in  the  Senate  and 
the  Representatives  in  the  House  having  been  previously 
admitted.  On  reassembling  in  December,  '66,  the  Con 
gress  early  took  up  for  consideration  the  question  of  "  im 
partial  suffrage  "  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Senator 
Hendricks  favored  an  amendment  limiting  the  extension 
of  the  suffrage  to  such  persons  as  were  able  to  read  and 
write  their  own  names,  saying  • 


THE    RECONSTRUCTION    CONGRESS.  281 

"  I  propose  to  vote  for  it,  not  because  I  am  in  favor,  as 
a  general  thing,  of  an  intelligence  qualification  for  the 
right  to  vote,  but  because  in  this  particular  instance  I 
think  it  to  be  proper  to  prescribe  it." 

The  amendment  was  lost. 

On  the  4th  of  February  Mr.  Williams,  of  Oregon,  in 
troduced  in  the  House  "A  bill  to  provide  for  the  more 
efficient  government  of  the  insurrectionary  States."  It 
provided  for  the  utter  overthrow  of  the  State  Govern 
ments  of  ten  States,  and  divided  the  "so-called  States" 
into  "military  districts,"  to  be  ruled  by  military  officers. 
If  there  be  conceivable  in  the  minds  of  men  anything  more 
utterly  revolting  to  the  normal  conscience  of  an  Ameri 
can  or  more  violently  opposed  to  the  letter  and  the  spirit 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  it  would  be  dif 
ficult  to  name  or  characterize  it.  The  bill  was  rushed 
through  the  Senate  without  discussion. 

"It  is  extraordinary,"  said  Senator  Doolittle,  of  Wis 
consin,  "  that  a  bill  of  this  kind,  that  proposes  to  estab 
lish  a  military  despotism  over  eight  millions  of  people 
and  a  country  larger  than  England,  France  and  Spain 
combined,  is  to  be  pressed  to  a  vote  in  this  Senate  the 
first  day  it  is  taken  up  for  consideration." 

Said  Mr.  Hendricks,  "  If  the  measure  will  not  bear 
argument,  then  let  it  be  passed  in  the  dark  hours  of  the 
night.  I  think  it  is  becoming,  when  despotism  is  estab 
lished  in  this  free  land,  that  the  best  blood  that  ever  ran 
in  mortal  veins  was  shed  to  make  free,  that  that  despot 
ism  shall  be  established  when  the  sun  does  not  shed  its 
bright  light  upon  the  earth.  It  is  a  work  for  darkness, 
and  not  for  light." 

The  Senate  amended  the  bill  by  substituting  the  term 
rebel  for  the  word  insurrectionary,  as  applied  to  the  States 
whose  governments  were  to  be  overthrown.  It  was 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

passed  on  the  2oth  of  February,  and  vetoed  two  days 
later.  Said  the  President : 

"  I  submit  to  Congress  whether  this  measure  is  not,  in 
its  whole  character,  scope  and  object,  without  precedent 
and  without  authority,  in  palpable  conflict  with  the  plain 
est  provisions  of  the' Constitution,  and  utterly  destructive 
of  those  great  principles  of  liberty  and  humanity  for 
which  our  ancestors  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  have 
shed  so  much  blood  and  expended  so  much  treasure." 

Senator  Saulsbury  not  only  upheld  the  veto,  but  coun 
seled  resistance  to  the  measure  by  the  people  of  the  South. 
Senator  Hendricks  joined  i$sue  with  him  at  once,  though 
concurring  in  the  support  of  the  veto ;  for  he  desired  the 
people  of  the  South  to  bring  to  bear  upon  the  subject 
their  coolest  judgment  and  their  highest  patriotism.  The 
bill  was  passed  over  the  President's  veto.  On  the  7th  of 
January,  1867,  Mr.  Ashley,  of  Ohio,  brought  before  the 
House  measures  for  the  impeachment  of  the  President. 
They  were  reported  from  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary, 
and  handed  over  to  the  next  Congress. 

The  Impeachment  Congress  1867-9. 

The  Fortieth  Congress  is  distinguished  for  the  inaugur 
ation  of  measures  for  conferring  the  elective  franchise 
upon  the  colored  race,  and  for  the  impeachment  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States — matters  of  serious  im 
port  to  the  Republic. 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment,  proposed  by  Congress  in 
1866,  and  now  pending  before  the  Legislatures  of  the 
States,  while  insuring  to  the  colored  people  equality  be 
fore  the  law,  had  not  granted  to  them  the  right  of  suf 
frage.  Many  even  of  the  most  radical  leaders  hesitated 
long  before  taking  that  step ;  for  though  eager  to  force 
Negro  suffrage  upon  the  South  as  a  means  of  preserving 
party  ascendency,  they  did  not  desire  it  in  their  own 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  283 

States.  Some  were  undoubtedly  influenced  in  its  favor 
by  their  ideas  of  philanthropy  and  justice  more  than  by 
partisan  considerations,  and  one  of  these  made  the  first 
move  in  Congress.  Senator  Sumner  introduced  a  bill 
(July  17,  1867)  to  enact  "  that  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
no  person  shall  be  excluded  from  any  office  by  reason  of 
race  or  color,  and  all  laws  making  any  such  distinction 
are  hereby  repealed." 

This  proposition  Senator  Hendricks  frankly  opposed. 
Criticising  it  and  the  policy  foreshadowed,  he  said  : 

"  The  Senator  from  Massachusetts  was  the  author  of 
the  proposition  that  the  colored  people  should  vote.  He 
began  with  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  now  claims — 
and  I  believe  his  party  friends  have  come  up  to  his  posi 
tion — that  that  policy  is  to  be  made  universal  throughout 
the  States.  I  suppose  he  will  be  frank  enough  to  inform 
us  whether  it  is  intended  as  the  commencement  of  the 
policy  that  Negroes  shall  be  allowed  to  become  office 
holders  and  to  hold  both  Federal  and  State  offices  through 
out  the  country.  I  suppose  he  does,  from  the  fact  that  he 
expressed  with  a  great  deal  of  warmth,  the  other  day, 
the  desire  that  he  might  see  colored  Senators  here  in  a 
very  short  time.  If  we  are  to  regard  this  as  the  inaugur 
ation  of  that  policy,  it  is  well  enough  to  know  it." 

Upon  Senator  Sumner's  "  Civil  Rights  Bill"  Senator 
Hendricks  had  declared  his  views  a  year  before  this  time, 
in  a  similar  strain.  He  had  then  said : 

"It  is  a  difficult  thing  to  define  citizenship.  I  do 
not  wish  to  see  it  cheapened  in  this  country.  In  times 
past,  to  be  called  an  American  citizen  was  a  very  proud 
title.  *  * 

"  I  am  satisfied,  sir,  that  the  Senator  has  now  declared 
the  end  to  which  we  are  to  come,  and  that  by  the  action 
of  the  Federal  Government  the  social  as  well  as  the  polit 
ical  equality  of  the  Negro  is  to  be  forced  upon  the  white 


284  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

race.  If  that  be  the  judgment  of  the  country,  we  shall 
have  to  accept  it.  The  people  that  I  represent  in  this 
chamber  have  not  yet  adopted  that  sentiment.  The  dis 
tinction  between  the  two  races  is  yet  maintained  in  In 
diana.  How  much  longer  it  will  be  maintained,  I  am  not 
;ble  to  say." 

These  words  were  uttered  February  10,  1866.  A  few 
months  before  that  date,  the  most  distinguished  of  his 
constituents,  Governor  Oliver  P.  Morton,  had,  in  his  mes 
sage  to  the  General  Assembly  (November,  1865),  ex 
pressed  his  own  sentiments,  if  not  those  of  the  people 
represented  by  Senator  Hendricks,  on  ''the  distinction 
between  the  two  races,"  in  these  words  : 

"  It  is  a  fact  so  manifest  that  it  should  not  be  called  in 
question  by  any,  that  a  people  who  are  just  emerging  from 
the  barbarism  of  slavery  are  not  qualified  to  become  a 
part  of  our  political  system  and  take  part  not  only  in  the 
government  of  themselves  and  their  neighbors,  but  of 
the  whole  United  States.  So  far  from  believing  that 
Negro  suffrage  is  a  remedy  for  all  our  national  ills,  I 
doubt  whether  it  is  a  remedy  for  any,  and  rather  believe 
that  its  enforcement  by  Congress  would  be  more  likely  to 
subject  the  Negro  to  a  merciless  persecution  than  to  con 
fer  upon  him  any  substantial  benefit." 

A  few  years  afterward  Governor  Morton  became  a 
champion  of  Negro  suffrage  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
and  admitted  his  change  of  position  in  these  manly  and 
strikingly  picturesque  sentences : 

"  I  confess,  and  do  it  without  shame,  that  I  have  been 
educated  by  the  great  events  of  the  war.  The  American 
people  have  been  educated  rapidly  ;  and  the  man  who  says 
he  has  learned  nothing,  that  he  stands  now  where  he  did 
six  years  ago,  is  like  an  ancient  mile-post  by  the  side  of 
a  deserted  highway." 

But  Senator  Hendricks  had  not  been  so  rapidly  edu- 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  285 

cated.  He  opposed  Negro  suffrage  as  he  had  opposed 
the  civil-rights  force  bill,  deeming  the  one  premature,  and 
the  other  nugatory.  Now,  when  the  sober  second  thought 
of  the  nation  has  enabled  it  to  recognize  that,  in  the  rapid 
education  it  went  through,  there  was  too  much  passion  in 
the  people  and  too  much  partisanship  in  the  leaders  ; 
wrhen  the  convulsions  and  disasters  through  which  Negro 
suffrage  has  been  established,  are  considered  ;  and  when 
the  unconstitutionally  of  the  civil-rights  bills  has  been 
pronounced  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States — 
even  party  opponents  must  admire  the  statesmanship 
which  could  foresee  these  results,  and  the  courage  which 
could  oppose,  in  that  time  of  popular  clamor,  the  meas 
ures  that  produced  them. 

The  President  had  become  an  obstacle  to  the  radical 
course  of  the  Congress.  His  vetoes  of  their  measures, 
his  fearless  messages  and  finally  his  bitter  speeches  had 
created  a  political  gulf  between  him  and  the  majority,  and 
had  exasperated  many  of  them  personally.  They  re 
solved  to  get  rid  of  him. 

In  dealing  with  the  Southern  States  he  had  acted 
upon  the  theory  of  State  vitality,  that  the  States  were  still 
in,  and  had  never  been  out  of  the  Union.  This  was  the 
theory  of  the  Government  in  all  its  Departments  through 
out  the  rebellion.  The  secession  ordinances,  being  null 
and  void,  did  not  take  the  States  out  of  the  Union.  The 
military  operations  of  the  Confederacy  were  domestic  in 
surrection,  not  foreign  war.  The  right  of  secession  was 
denied  by  all ;  the  ordinances  were  invalid  and  of  no 
effect ;  hence  the  right  of  the  Government  to  suppress 
secession.  For  if  secession  were  valid,  then  the  seced 
ing  States  became  independent ;  and  to  make  war  upon 
them  was  a  crime.  This  theory  was  recognized  in  the 
President's  proclamation,  in  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  in  the  resolutions  and  acts  of  Congress.  This 


280 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 


was  the  theory  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  had  been 
that  of  the  Republican  party  also  up  to  this  time. 

It  would  follow  from  this  that,  when  the  insurrection 
should  be  suppressed  the  States  would  resume  all  their 
rights  and  relations  under  the  Constitution,  but  individ 
uals  could  be  punished  for  their  participation  in  rebel 
lion  against  the  Government. 

President  Johnson,  accordingly,  proceeded  to  rehabili 
tate  the  States.     He  issued  a  proclamation  of  amnesty, 
excepting  from    its   operation    many  classes  of  persons 
under  the  conviction  that  "  treason  must  be  made  odious." 
He  appointed  Provisional  Governors,  in  conformity  with  a 
proposed  act  of  Congress  of  1863.     The  Governors  were 
to  call    Conventions  of  all  persons   entitled  to   amnesty 
who  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  the  Conven 
tions  were  to  amend  the  State  Constitutions  so  as  to  se 
cure   the   results    of  the    war.     The    reorganized   State 
Governments  were  then  to  be  recognized  by  the  President, 
and  again  to  send  their  Senators  and  Representatives  to 
the  Federal  Congress.     But  this  could  not  be  permitted 
by  the  Republicans.     Let   the  South  regain  her  repre 
sentation,  and  their  majority  was  gone.     To  prevent  such 
a  result  they  announced  the  startling  doctrine  that  the  ef 
fect  of  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  was  to  extinguish 
altogether  the  States  as  such,  and  to  reduce  the  territory 
of  which  those  States  were  composed  at  the  time  when 
the  insurrection  broke  out,  to  the  condition  of  unorgan 
ized  Territories  or  of  conquered  provinces.     They  ac 
cordingly  denied  the  Southern  Senators  and  Representa 
tives  the  seats  in  Congress  to  which  the  Constitution  en 
titled  them,  till  such  time  as  they  could  secure  their  own 
power  with  the  aid  of  Negro  suffrage.     To  this  end  they 
enacted  Reconstruction  measures,  which  the  President 
vetoed.      The  Congress    retaliated  with    the  Tenure  of 
Office  act,  and  a  House  resolution  (March  7,  1867)  au~ 
thorizing  the  Judiciary  Committee  "to  inquire  into  the 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS. 

official  conduct  of  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice  President  of 
the  United  States,  discharging  the  present  duties  of  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States." 

The  majority  of  the  committee  reported  to  the  next 
Congress,  recommending  the  impeachment  of  the  Presi 
dent  for  several  minor  offenses,  but  mainly  because  of 
his  attempts  to  reconstruct  the  rebellious  States  independ 
ently  of  Congress. 

But  meantime  the  President  had  given  another  cause 
of  offense — the  dismissal  of  Secretary  Stanton  in  disre 
gard  of  the  Tenure  of  Office  act — and  this  was  made  the 
chief  count  in  the  articles  of  impeachment  agreed  upon 
by  the  House,  March  3,  1868.  The  managers  of  the  trial 
were  Messrs.  John  A.  Bingham,  George  S.  Boutwell, 
James  F.  Wilson,  John  A.  Logan,  Thomas  Williams, 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  and  Thaddeus  Stevens — who  on  the 
5th  of  March  presented  the  articles  of  impeachment  to 
the  Senate  sitting  as  a  high  court  of  justice  under  the 
presidency  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 
The  President  was  represented  by  able  and  distinguished 
counsel:  Henry  Stanbery,  lately  Attorney-General,  B. 
R.  Curtis,  Jeremiah. S.  Black,  William  M.  Evarts,  and 
Thomas  A.  R.  Nelson.  The  scene  was  an  impressive 
one  and  the  occasion  one  of  the  most  momentous  in  the 
history  of  the  nation. 

The  following  is  Senator  Hendricks's  concise  summary 
of  the  offenses  charged  : 

"  In  the  eleven  articles  of  impeachment  the  President 
is  charged,  in  the  different  forms  of  statement,  with  six 
acts  of  official  misconduct,  as  follows  : 

"i.  The  removal  of  Mr.  Stanton  from  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  War. 

"  2.  The  appointment  of  Lorenzo  Thomas,  the  Adju 
tant  General  of  the  army,  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
War  ad  interim. 

"3.    The  conspiracy  with  said  Thomas  to  prevent  the 


288  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

execution  of  the  tenure  of  office  act  by  hindering  Mr. 
Stanton  from  holding  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War. 

"  4.  The  instructions  to  General  Emory  that  the  sec- 
ond  section  of  the  act  of  March  2,  1867,  requiring  all 
military  orders  made  by  the  President  or  Secretary  of 
War  to  be  issued  through  the  general  of  the  army  was 
unconstitutional. 

"5.    The  President's  speeches  against  Congress. 

"6.  The  denial  of  the  authority  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Congress,  by  the  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  President  to 
prevent  the  execution  of  the  tenure  of  office  act,  the  army 
appropriation  act,  and  the  act  to  provide  for  the  more 
efficient  government  of  the  rebel  States." 

The  trial  began  March  3oth,  and  proceeded  "  with  all 
convenient  dispatch,  under  the  rules  of  the  Senate  sitting 
upon  the  trial  of  an  impeachment,"  as  had  been  ordered 
by  an  amendment  of  Senator  Hendricks,  offered  under  the 
inspiration  of  the  words  of  the  State  Constitution  he  had 
helped  to  frame,  "  justice  shall  be  administered  speedily 
and  without   delay."      The   course  of  the   proceedings 
can  not  be  followed.     The  managers  were  skillful   and 
determined ;  the  counsel  for  the  defense  were  able  and 
devoted;    the   outside    pressure    was    tremendous.     The 
radical  press  was  clamorous  for  conviction ;  the  House 
managers  were  "openly  predicting  dire  calamity  to  the 
country  as  the  result  of  an  acquittal,  primarily  because 
a  verdict  of  '  not  guilty '  would  encourage  Mr.  Johnson 
to  'do  rash  things,'  '  go  on  in  his  excesses,'  «  encourage 
the  ex-rebels  ; '  and  the  alarmists  in  the  Senate  had  begun 
to  threaten  <  with  infamy '   any  Senator  who  should  vote 
'  not  guilty,'  and  secretly  in  their  talks  among  themselves 
the  radical  Senators  were  endeavoring  to  •'  frighten  off' 
the  so-called  doubtful  Republican  Senators  who  it  was 
believed  would  vote  for  acquittal."     Such  is  the  contem 
poraneous  account  of  an  intelligent  observer  who  was 
closely  studying  the  events  he  described. 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  289 

There  was  much  able  argument  and  eloquent  appeal. 
The  candid  and  accomplished  Stanbery  said,  near  the 
close  of  his  final  address : 

"  Listen  for  a  moment  to  one  who  perhaps  understands 
Andrew  Johnson  better  than  most  of  you,  for  his  oppor 
tunities  have  been  greater.  From  the  moment  that  I  was 
honored  with  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Johnson,  not  a 
step  was  taken  that  did  not  come  under  my  observation, 
not  a  word  was  said  that  escaped  my  attention.  I  re- 
.garded  him  closely  in  Cabinet,  and  in  still  more  private 
and  confidential  conversation.  I  saw  him  often  tempted 
with  bad  advice.  I  knew  that  evil  counselors  were  more 
than  once  around  him.  I  observed  him  with  the  most  in 
tense  anxiety.  But  never  in  word  or  deed,  in  thought, 
in  action,  did  I  discover  in  that  man  anything  but  loy 
alty  to  the  Constitution  and  the  laws.  He  stood  firm  as 
a  rock  against  all  temptations  to  abuse  his  own  powers 
or  to  exercise  those  which  were  not  conferred  upon  him. 
Steadfast  and  self-reliant  in  the  midst  of  all  difficulty, 
when  dangers  threatened,  when  temptations  were  strong, 
he  looked  only  to  the  Constitution  of  his  country  and  to 
the  people." 

At  last  a  vote  was  taken  (May  i6th)  on  the  eleventh 
article  first. 

The  Senators  who  voted  "Guilty,"  were  Messrs. 
Anthony,  Cameron,  Cattell,  Chandler,  Cole,  Conkling, 
Conness,  Corbett,  Cragin,  Drake,  Edmunds,  Ferry,  Fre- 
linghuysen,  Harlan,  Howard,  Howe,  Morgan,  Morrill  of 
Maine,  Morrill  of  Vermont,  Morton,  Nye,  Patterson  of 
New  Hampshire,  Pomeroy,  Ramsey,  Sherman,  Sprague, 
Stewart,  Sumner,  Thayer,  Tipton,  Wade,  Willey,  Wil 
liams,  Wilson  and  Yates — 35,  all  Republicans. 

The  Senators  who  voted  "  Not  Guilty,"  were  Messrs. 
Bayard,  Buckalew,  Davis,  Dixon,  Doolittle,  Fcssenden, 
Fowler,  Grimes,  Henderson,  Hendricks.  Johnson,  Mc- 
19 


290  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

Creery,  Norton,  Patterson  of  Tennessee,  Ross,  Saulsbury 
Trumbutt,  Van  Winkle  and  Vickers— 19,  all  Democrats 
except  the  six  printed  in  Italics. 

A  two-thirds  vote  being  necessary  for  conviction,  the 
Chief  Justice  announced  that  the  President  was  acquitted 
of  the  charges  contained  in  the  eleventh  article.  The 
Court  then  adjourned  to  the  26th  of  May,  when  votes 
were  taken  on  the  second  and  third  articles  with  the  same 
result  as  on  the  eleventh  ;  and  then  the  Court  adjourned 
sine  die,  closing  the  most  important  impeachment  trial 
of  our  day. 

Among  those  voting  "  Guilty,"  especial  mention  should 
be  made  of  Benjamin  Wade  and  John  Sherman.  The 
former  was  President  -pro  temfore  of  the  Senate,  and  in 
the  event  of  the  President's  conviction  would  have  suc 
ceeded  to  his  office.  By  a  flagrant  violation  of  judicial 
propriety,  he  claimed  and  was  allowed  by  the  majority  a 
right  to  be  a  judge  where  his  own  interests  were  at  stake. 
Senator  Sherman  had  said  in  discussing  the  Tenure-of- 
Officebill  (in  1867): 

"  That  this  provision  does  not  apply  to  the  present  case 
[removal  of  the  Cabinet  officers]  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
its  language  is  so  framed  as  not  to  apply  to  the  present 
President.  The  Senator  shows  that  himself,  and  argues 
truly  that  it  would  not  prevent  the  present  President  from 
removing  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  and  the  Secretary  of  State." 

Now  he  judged  the  President  guilty  of  violating  the 
provision  in  question,  in  removing  the  Secretary  of  War, 
revealing  the  animus  of  his  decision  in  this  accusation  : 

"  He  has  abandoned  the  party  which  trusted  him  with 
power,  and  the  principles  so  often  avowed  by  him  which 
induced  their  trust." 

Too  great  praise  can  not  be  accorded  to  the  Republi- 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  291 

cans  who  voted  for  acquittal.  Their  act  required  an  heroic 
courage  and  a  sublime  devotion  to  their  sense  of  duty. 

In  accordance  with  an  order  adopted  at  the  beginning 
of  the  trial,  each  Senator  was  permitted  to  file  a  written 
opinion  within  two  days  after  a  vote  upon  any  article. 
Of  this  privilege  twenty-nine  Senators  availed  themselves. 
The  following  extracts  from  the  opinion  of  Senator  Hen- 
dricks  show  his  position  on  the  important  points  at  issue 
and  fairly  represent  the  views  of  the  Democrats  of  the 
Congress  and  of  the  nation  : 

"In  the  presence  of  the  provision  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  which  protects  the  right  of  free 
speech,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  law,  State  or  Federal, 
declaring  its  exercise  in  any  manner  or  by  any  person  to 
be  a  crime,  it  is  not  necessary  to  examine  the  tenth  article, 
which  rests  its  charge  of  a  misdemeanor  upon  the  Presi 
dent's  speeches  made  to  the  people,  in  response  to  their 
calls,  in  his  capacity  as  a  citizen  and  not  in  the  ex'ercise 
of  his  office.  In  our  country,  as  long  as  the  Constitution 
stands,  no  legislative  body  can  make  it  a  crime  to  discuss 
the  conduct  of  public  officers  with  entire  freedom,  and 
the  House  of  Representatives  can  not  by  any  proceeding 
whatever,  shield  itself  from  individual  criticism  and  popu 
lar  review ;  and  any  effort  to  do  so  betrays  conscious 
weakness,  and  disturbs  public  confidence.  *  *  * 

"If  the  tenure  of  Mr.  Stanton's  office  be  changed  by 
the  Tenure  of  Office  act,  it  is  by  the  proviso  to  the  first 
section  ;  and  clearly  the  proviso  has  no  such  effect.  The 
proviso  is  that  the  Cabinet  officers  '  shall  hold  their  offices 
respectively  for  and  during  the  term  of  the  President  by 
whom  they  may  have  been  appointed,  and  for  one  month 
thereafter.'  Not  having  been  appointed  during  the  ex 
isting  presidential  term,  Mr.  Stanton  has  no  new  tenure 
bestowed  upon  him,  but  he  still  holds,  in  the  language 
of  his  commission,  '  during  the  pleasure  of  the  Presi 
dent.'  *  *  * 


UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

"  Supported  by  a  long  line  of  precedents  coming 
through  our  whole  history  unchallenged  and  unrebuked 
by  Congress,  President  Johnson  stands  before  us  upon 
these  charges;  and  I  ask  my  brother  Senators  what 
answer  we  will  make  to  the  people  when  they  ask  us  why 
we  selected  him  for  a  sacrifice  for  doing  just  what  was 
always  recognized  as  right  in  his  predecessors?  Upon 
my  oath  I  can  not  strike  such  a  blow. 

"The  judgment  of  the  First  Congress  was  that  the 
President  has  the  right  under  the  Constitution  to  remove 
the  Secretaries,  and  that  judgment  is  supported  by  the 
uniform  practice  of  the  Government  from  that  day  till  the 
meeting  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress.  The  evidence 
shows  that  Mr.  Johnson  was  advised  by  every  member 
of  his  Cabinet,  including  Mr.  Stanton,  that  he  had  that 
right  under  the  Constitution,  and  that  Congress  could  not 
take  it  from  him  nor  impair  it,  and  therefore  it  was  his 
duty  to  veto  the  Tenure  of  Office  bill ;  and  that  the  bill 
did  not  include  the  appointments  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  ; 
and  that,  notwithstanding  the  passage  of  the  bill,  he 
would  have  the  right  to  remove  the  Secretaries  of  War, 
of  State  and  of  the  Navy.  This  advice  was  given  by  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  under  the  obligations  of  the  Con 
stitution  and  of  their  oaths  ;  and  now  if  we  say  that  he, 
being  so  informed  and  advised,  was  guilty  of  a  crime  in 
demanding  the  right  to  select  his  own  constitutional  ad 
visers  as  it  has  been  conceded  to  all  the  Presidents,  and 
for  that  drive  him  from  his  office  and  give  it  to  a  member 
of  this  body,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  we  will  do  an  act  of 
such  flagrant  injustice  and  cruelty  as  to  bring  upon  our 
heads  the  indignant  condemnation  of  all  just  men,  and 
this  impeachment  will  stand  itself  impeached  before  the 
civilized  world." 

As  has  been  remarked,  Senator  Hendricks  was  very 
popular  in  Washington.  The  men  who  opposed  him 
most  bitterly  in  politics,  early  learned  to  value  his  candor, 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  293 

fairness  and  honesty,  and  to  find  pleasure  in  his  genial 
companionship.  Against  Charles  Sumner,  the  author  or 
champion  of  all  the  Reconstruction  and  enfranchisement 
measures,  he  was  most  often  pitted  in  what  on  the  battle 
field  would  have  been  deadly  strife  ;  but  he  warmly  ad 
mired  the  brilliant  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  and  did 
not  doubt  his  sincerity  of  purpose.  One  day  in  the  Recon 
struction  debate  he  broke  forth,  with  spontaneous  elo 
quence,  into  a  glowing  tribute  to  his  great  adversary ; 
eulogizing  his  intellect,  his  accomplishments,  his  philan 
thropy,  and  pronouncing  him  the  leader  of  his  party  and 
the  author  of  policies  which  for  good  or  evil  were  shaping 
the  destinies  of  the  nation.  It  happened  that  the  great 
scientist,  Louis  Agassiz,  a  life-long  friend  of  Sumner, 
heard  this  passage  from  the  gallery,  and  was  thrilled  with 
delight.  He  rushed  to  the  cloak  room  to  meet  his  friend, 
and  embraced  him  in  his  impulsive  foreign  fashion,  de 
claring  that  it  was  the  happiest  day  of  his  life,  since  he 
had  heard  the  great  leader  of  the  opposition  place 
his  dear  friend  in  his  true  position  before  the  people. 
Sumner  then  called  out  Senator  Hendricks  and  pre 
sented  Agassiz  to  him.  After  a  pleasant  chat  the  Sen 
ator  from  Massachusetts  invited  his  two  friends  to  be  his 
guests  at  a  little  supper,  and  arranged  that  they  should 
spend  the  evening  together.  What  sparkling  wit  in  con 
versation,  what  wisdom  in  the  serious  discussion  of  grave 
topics,  what  generous  good-fellowship  must  have  charac 
terized  the  friendly  meeting  of  three  such  men  !  Indeed, 
Mr.  Hendricks  often  spoke  of  that  evening  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  he  ever  spent. 

Such  questions  as  these  have  been  asked  :  What  pol 
icy  did  Mr.  Hendricks  ever  originate?  With  what  great 
measure  is  his  name  associated?  Was  he  not  merely  an 
objector,  obstructing  all  the  important  legislation  which 
has  moulded  the  country  to  its  present  shape? 

The  answer  is  evident.     Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  member 


294  UNITED    STATES    SENATOR. 

of  a  hopeless  minority,  throughout  a  season  of  passion 
and  strife.  He  had  no  opportunity  to  originate  policies 
or  to  devise  measures.  That  prerogative  was  jealously 
guarded  by  the  majority,  and  measures  proposed  by  the 
other  side  had  no  hearing.  His  proper  and  legitimate 
functions  were  criticism  and  opposition,  and  in  the  exer 
cise  of  these  he  did  the  Republic  good  service. 

Constitutional  opposition  is  an  element  of  free  govern 
ment.  The  best  safeguard  of  an  administration  is  that 
its  policy  and  measures  be  constantly  subjected  to  the 
intelligent  criticism  of  political  opponents.  Especiallv 
is  such  criticism  salutary  in  time  of  war,  when  corruption 
and  tyranny  have  their  opportunity.  In  reviewing  the 
troubled  history  of  our  civil  war  and  the  period  of  dis 
order  which  followed,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  claim 
that,  if  the  Republican  Administration  restored  the  Union, 
the  Democratic  opposition  saved  the  Republic.  Of  the 
Democratic  opposition  Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  skillful 
and  fearless  leader ;  and  no  one  who  reflects  upon  the 
turmoil  and  commotion  through  which  much  of  the  legis 
lation  he  opposed  has  worked  out  its  ends,  can  deny  that 
he  displayed  a  high  order  of  statesmanship  in  his  course 
as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 

Perhaps  the  least  noted  services  of  a  statesman  are 
those  which  he  performs  as  committee-man  of  the  Senate 
or  House.  Yet  those  services  are  often  of  vast  import 
ance.  Senator  Hendricks's  work  in  committees  was  ex 
ceptional  for  its  extent  and  for  its  value.  On  entering 
the  Chamber,  he  was  at  once  made  a  member  of  three 
Standing  Committees — on  Public  Lands,  on  Claims,  on 
Public  Buildings  and  Grounds.  Of  the  first-named  he 
remained  a  member  throughout  his  senatorial  term.  In 
the  session  of  '64-5  he  was  transferred  from  the  Commit 
tee  on  Claims  to  that  on  Naval  Affairs,  and  on  the  latter 
he  continued  to  serve  through  the  two  succeeding  Con 
gresses — five  regular  sessions  in  all.  In  '65-6  he  ex- 


THE    IMPEACHMENT    CONGRESS.  295 

changed  his  place  on  the  Committee  on  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds  for  a  membership  of  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary,  which  he  retained  as  long  as  he  remained  in 
the  Senate. 

Of  Mr.  Hendricks  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Blaine  speaks  as 
follows,  in  his  recent  work : 

"Thomas  A.  Hendricks  entered  from  Indiana  as  the  suc 
cessor  of  Jesse  D.  Bright,  who  had  been  expelled  upon  a 
charge  of  disloyalty.  Mr.  Hendricks  had  served  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  from  1851  to  1855.  He  was 
but  thirty-one  years  of  age  when  first  chosen,  and  his 
record  in  the  House  had  not  prepared  the  public  to  expect 
the  strength  and  ability  which  he  displayed  as  Senator. 
He  was  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers  when  he  took 
his  seat,  and  he  proved  able,  watchful  and  acute  in  the 
discharge  of  his  public  duties.  He  was  always  at  his 
post,  was  well  prepared  on  all  questions,  debated  with 
ability,  and  rapidly  gained  respect  and  consideration  in 
the  Senate." 

Ere  the  close  of  his  term,  Mr.  Hendricks  was  very 
generally  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  next  Presi 
dential  nomination.  Perhaps  no  other  member  of  the 
Senate  has  ever  risen  to  such  eminence  in  a  single  term 
of  service. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  met,  according  to 
custom,  on  the  8th  of  January,  1868.  It  was  held  at 
Morrison's  Opera  House,  in  Indianapolis.  Hon.  Joseph 
E.  McDonald  was  chosen  Permanent  Chairman,  and  ad 
dressed  the  Convention  in  an  eloquent  and  forcible  speech, 
affirming  the  loyalty  of  the  Democracy  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  denouncing  the  iniquitous  Reconstruction  measures 
of  Congress,  demanding  one  currency  for  all,  and  prais 
ing  the  brave  stand  of  the  President  in  opposition  to  un 
constitutional  acts. 

Col.  Samuel  C.  Wilson  presented  the  name  of  Senator 
Hendricks  for  the  Gubernatorial  nomination.  The  ap 
plause  which  greeted  the  name  was  deafening  and  long 
continued.  No  other  person  was  presented  as  a  candi 
date  for  the  honor,  and  the  Senator  was  nominated  by 
acclamation.  Hon.  A.  P.  Edgerton  received  the  votes 
of  a  majority  for  the  second  honor,  being  nominated  for 
Lieutenant  Governor.  The  ticket  was  strong  throughout, 
and  the  Democracy  of  the  State  were  inspired  with  high 
hopes  of  success. 

The  Republican  State  Convention  was  held  on  the  2Oth 
of  February,  in  the  same  building.  Acting-Governor 
Conrad  Baker  was  nominated  for  Governor,  without  op 
position.  Hon.  Will  Cumback  was  declared  the  nom 
inee  for  Lieutenant  Governor  on  the  first  ballot,  and  the 
rest  of  the  ticket  was  likewise  made  up  of  able  men. 

The  State  canvass  thus  began  far  in  advance  of  the 

(296) 


THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  297 

national  campaign  ;  but  State  issues  received  little  atten 
tion  at  the  hands  of  the  speakers  or  of  the  press,  popular 
interest  being  occupied  with  the  dramatic  events  of  Con 
gress  and  the  positions  assumed  by  the  great  leaders  of 
both  parties. 

"The  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1868,"  says 
Mr.  Elaine,  "  was  invested  with  remarkable  interest." 
That  Convention  met  in  New  York  City  on  the  4th  of 
July.  Governor  Horatio  Seymour,  of  New  York,  who 
had  presided  four  years  before  at  the  Chicago  Conven 
tion,  was  chosen  Permanent  Chairman.  The  platform 
adopted  characterized  the  Reconstruction  acts  as  "usur 
pations,  unconstitutional,  revolutionary  and  void,"  and 
declared  that  "  all  the  obligations  of  the  Government  not 
payable  by  their  express  terms  in  coin,  ought  to  be  paid 
in  lawful  money" — "greenbacks,"  of  course  being  in 
tended,  and  the  idea  being  that  expressed  in  the  cam 
paign  motto,  "One  currency  for  plow-holder  and  bond 
holder."  The  voting  commenced  on  the  third  day.  On 
the  first  ballot  Mr.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio,  had  105  votes  ; 
President  Johnson,  65  ;  Judge  Church,  of  New  York,  34  ~ 
General  Hancock,  of  Pennsylvania,  33  ;  Mr.  Packer,  of 
Pennsylvania,  26  ;  Mr.  English,  of  Connecticut,  16.  The 
remainder  were  scattering.  Six  ballots  were  taken  on 
that  day.  Pendleton  declined  to  99  on  the  second,  but 
recovered  at  once  and  continued  to  rise. 

At  the  close  of  the  day  the  name  of  Senator  Hendricks 
was  presented  amid  tumultuous  applause,  and  received 
at  once  30  votes.  On  the  following  day  the  fortunes  of 
Hancock  and  Hendricks  rose,  and  those  of  Pendleton 
fell.  New  York  withdrew  the  name  of  Church  and  voted 
for  the  Indiana  Senator.  Subsequently  Illinois  trans 
ferred  half  her  vote  from  Pendleton  to  Hendricks.  On 
the  eighteenth  ballot,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  General 
Hancock  was  in  the  lead,  with  144^  votes  ;  Senator  Hen 
dricks  came  next,  with  87  ;  and  Pendleton  had  56^.  At 


298  THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT. 

the  close  of  the  balloting  it  was  generally  conceded  that 
Mr.  Hendricks  would  be  nominated.  Next  morning  he 
gained  and  Hancock  lost.  On  the  twenty-first  ballot 
there  were  135^  votes  for  Hancock  and  132  for  Hendricks, 
with  4&J-  for  other  candidates.  There  was  now  but  one 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  Mr.  Hendricks's  success.  The 
Indiana  delegation  was  not  united  in  his  support.  Rich 
ard  J.  Bright,  a  nephew  of  Jesse  D.  Bright,  was  a  mem 
ber  of  that  delegation,  and  could  not  be  induced  to  lay 
aside  his  opposition  to  the  Senator,  whom  his  uncle  had 
regarded  with  vindictive  hostility  since  '63,  when  the  lat 
ter  failed  to  secure  a  return  to  the  Senate.  This  steady 
and  strong  opposition  secured  the  defeat  of  the  Indiana 
candidate.  On  the  next  ballot  Governor  Seymour  was 
nominated,  and  General  Frank  P.  Blair  was  at  once 
designated  as  the  Vice-Presidential  candidate. 

The  Gubernatorial  race  in  Indiana  was  very  inter 
esting.  Senator  Hendricks  and  Governor  Baker  were 
called  upon  to  make  a  tour  of  the  State,  and  both  re 
sponded  with  alacrity  to  the  call.  A  joint  canvass  was 
arranged,  to  include  one  debate  in  each  of  the  eleven 
congressional  districts.  Immense  multitudes  thronged  to 
hear  at  all  the  discussions.  The  first  of  these  was  con 
ducted  at  Portland,  Jay  county,  on  Saturday,  the  I2th  of 
September.  A  part  of  the  debate  is  reprinted  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.  The  Governor  spoke  ably  and  earnestly, 
and  had  on  his  side  the  prestige  of  political  power  and 
the  deeply  stirred  feeling  of  the  people  against  the  South. 
Mr.  Hendricks  fairly  eclipsed  himself.  There  was 
triumph  in  his  voice,  and  perfect  confidence  in  his  man 
ner.  If  he  overmastered  his  competitor,  it  must  be  re 
membered  that  he  had  on  his  side  the  Constitution,  the 
President,  the  memories  of  Lincoln,  the  words  of  Morton 
and  generally,  as  we  believe,  the  right.  On  the  follow 
ing  Monday  the  candidates  debated  at  Peru  ;  on  Tues 
day,  at  Delphi ;  on  Thursday,  at  South  Bend  ;  on  Fri- 


THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  299 

day,  at  Waterloo  ;  on  the  next  Monday,  at  Stilesville  ;  on 
Tuesday,  at  Brazil ;  on  Thursday,  at  Brookville  ;  on  Fri 
day,  at  Versailles  ;  on  the  next  Monday,  at  Salem  ;  and 
on  Thursday,  at  Rockport.  On  the  day  last  named,  the 
ist  of  October,  the  joint  canvass  was  concluded.  Fair 
ness  and  gentlemanly  courtesy  had  characterized  it 
throughout. 

The  campaign  was  one  long  to  be  remembered  for  its 
splendid  pageants.  The  hero  of  Appomattox  being  the 
Presidential  candidate  of  the  Republicans,  and  the  country 
being  wearied  of  military  displays,  a  novel  campaign 
feature  was  adopted  in  the  formation  of  Tanner  clubs. 
General  Grant  was  a  tanner  by  trade  ;  and  as  rails  had 
been  in  demand  in  Lincoln's  campaigns,  so  now  leather 
aprons  and  capes,  symbols  of  the  great  hero's  former 
handicraft,  were  worn  by  teeming  thousands.  The  Dem 
ocrats  clung  to  the  loyal  color,  and  organized  their  legions 
of  youths  in  clubs  of  White  Boys  in  Blue.  For  miles,  on 
nights  of  parades,  swept  the  lines  of  starry  fires.  For 
miles,  on  days  oi  rallies,  passed  the  floats  of  beautiful  and 
impressive  street  pageants.  Colfax,  of  Indiana,  being 
the  Vice-Presidential  candidate,  called  forth  great  en 
thusiasm  in  Indiana,  especially  in  the  northern  counties 
of  the  State. 

The  hand  that  writes  this  page  bore  a  torch  in  that 
campaign.  The  White  Boys  in  Blue  included  boys  just 
entering  their  teens  ;  and  never  before,  perhaps,  had  the 
young  sons  of  Indiana  been  so  attracted  by  a  political 
canvass  or  so  thoroughly  interested  in  the  discussions. 
Our  torches  were  supplied  with  turned  handles  of  soft 
wood.  They  would  not  answer,  so  long  as  Porter  county 
contained  a  hickory  tree.  We  exchanged  them  for  for 
est  boughs  of  the  old  Democratic  fiber.  All  the  citizens 
contributed  to  the  displays  of  the  political  rallies.  In 
Valparaiso  our  opponents  built  a  heavy  arch,  bristling  with 
black  wooden  cannon.  Our  own  arch,  light,  airy,  tall 


300  THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT. 

and  graceful,  bore  the  portraits  of  Seymour  and  Blair,. 
with  the  calm,  majestic  face  of  Washington  above  them. 
It  bore  no  symbols  of  war,  but  the  flowers  and  leaves 
which  bring  sweet  memories  and  are  emblems  of  peace 
and  love.  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  opened  our  local 
canvass,  preceding  the  National  Conventions.  He  pro 
nounced  Hendricks  the  first  of  living  American  states 
men,  and  predicted  the  nomination  of  the  latter  for 
President.  Mr.  Hendricks  followed,  some  weeks  later, 
and  discussed  in  his  happiest  manner  the  issues  of  the 
hour.  He  uttered  no  vituperation.  He  spoke  little  of 
past  issues .  But  in  a  masterly  way  he  presented  the  ques 
tions  of  finance  and  of  reconstruction  so  that  a  child 
might  comprehend  their  import.  There  had  never  before 
been  so  large  an  assembly  of  people  in  the  city.  The 
speech  was  so  eloquent,  so  convincing,  so  well  addressed 
to  the  better  feelings  of  the  heart,  that  it  won  many  votes 
for  the  candidate  in  that  Republican  stronghold. 

The  election  occurred  on  Tuesday,  the  i3th  of  October, 
Large  Democratic  gains  were  noticeable  in  the  returns 
received — so  large,  indeed,  that  the  ratio  of  the  gains 
would  give  the  State  to  the  Democrats  by  a  good  major 
ity.  By  Wednesday  night  the  victory  was  pretty  gener 
ally  conceded  to  Hendricks  and  Edgerton,  and  there 
were  demonstrations  of  public  rejoicing  in  all  parts  of  the 
State.  On  Thursday  the  situation  was  in  doubt,  though 
there  was  little  satisfactory  evidence  of  a  turn  in  the  tide, 
on  account  of  the  slowness  of  the  returns — which  sit 
uation  was  most  exasperating.  Since  the  result  might 
depend  upon  a  few  votes  for  either  party,  there  was  the 
greatest  temptation  to  fraud  in  reporting  the  final  returns  ; 
and  when,  after  days  of  waiting,  those  returns  were  finally 
received,  the  Democratic  advantage  was  found  to  have 
been  fully  compensated.  There  were  irregularities  in 
many  counties.  Votes  of  Democratic  townships  and  pre 
cincts  were  recklessly  thrown  out  on  the  merest  techni- 


THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  301 

calities,  where  the  freedom  and  integrity  of  the  ballots 
were  unquestionable  and  unquestioned.  The  same  tech 
nicalities,  however,  which  threw  out  the  returns  in  Demo 
cratic  precincts,  did  not  operate  to  throw  out  Republican 
returns  in  others. 

The  following  seemingly  well  substantiated  cases  are 
mentioned,  to  illustrate  the  situation  : 

In  Kosciusko  county  the  returns  from  a  township  giv 
ing  a  Democratic  majority  of  61  were  thrown  out.  Two 
towrnships  were  likewise  thrown  out  in  Laporte  county. 
One  hundred  Republican  votes  were  added  to  the  vote 
of  one  township  in  Hamilton  county,  and  the  poll  books 
and  tally  sheets  were  destroyed.  In  Grant  county  a  ma 
jority  of  128  for  Ryan,  for  Secretary  of  State,  was 
changed  to  a  majority  of  442  for  his  opponent.  In  one 
township  in  Randolph  county  the  ballot  box  was  carried 
home  by  one  of  the  custodians,  and  afterward  yielded  a 
return  of  291  Republican  majority.  In  Richmond  the 
south  poll,  giving  over  200  Democratic  majority,  was 
thrown  out.  In  one  township  of  Wayne  county  9  votes 
for  Judge  Reid  were  thrown  out  because  the  ballots  were 
written  REED.  A  heavily  Republican  township  in  Law 
rence  county  was  without  any  registration  as  required  by 
law,  but  its  returns  were  accepted  without  question.  In 
stances  of  like  nature  might  be  multiplied.  The  stain 
upon  the  election  is  indelible. 

Whether  Mr.  Hendricks  would  or  would  not  have  tri 
umphed  but  for  the  technicalities  and  frauds  in  the  re 
turns,  it  has  ever  been  the  general  belief  of  his  party  that 
he  received  a  majority  of  the  ballots  cast.  At  all  events, 
it  is  hardly  to  be  questioned  that  he  would  have  received 
a  majority  had  the  election  been  fair  throughout.  No 
State  election,  perhaps,  was  ever  wholly  free  from  frauds 
on  both  sides.  Still  it  will  be  admitted  that  the  importa 
tion  of  non-resident  voters  and  the  corruption  resulting 
from  the  accumulation  of  large  campaign  funds  in  the 


302  THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT. 

hands  of  unscrupulous  men  were  apt  to  be  advanta 
geous  to  the  party  in  power  rather  than  to  the  Democrats. 
Governor  Baker  was  a  man  of  unquestionable  honor.  He 
accepted  the  office  in  the  hope  that  it  was  at  the  bidding 
of  a  majority  of  the  voters.  But  he  never  ceased  to  re 
gret  that  the  election  by  which  he  was  elevated  had  not 
been  less  impeachable. 

Governor  Baker's  majority"  was  officially  stated  to  be 
961.  Mr.  Hendricks  made  no  contest  and  betrayed  no 
personal  disappointment  at  the  result.  On  the  24th  of 
October  he  addressed  a  large  audience  in  Chicago,  to 
which  city  he  had  gone  as  an  escort  of  Governor  Seymour. 
He  also  spoke  to  a  vast  concourse  of  people  at  Detroit. 
In  the  November  election  Indiana  was  carried  for  Grant 
and  Colfax  by  an  average  majority  of  9,592. 

Mr.  Hendricks  at  once  resumed  the  practice  of  his  pro 
fession  at  Indianapolis.  In  the  following  year  he  made 
a  journey  to  the  Far  West.  He  was  royally  received  in 
Omaha,  July  14,  and  the  city  was  illuminated  in  his 
honor  in  the  evening.  He  addressed  the  citizens  from 
the  balcony  of  the  Metropolitan  Hotel,  on  Douglas  street. 
On  the  2  ist  of  August  he  spoke  in  the  Metropolitan 
Theater  at  San  Francisco.  Returning  home  a  few  days 
later,  he  was  called  to  take  part  in  the  Ohio  canvass,  then 
pending.  He  complied,  and  spoke  at  Hamilton  on  the 
nth  of  September,  and  at  Zanesville  on  the  2ist. 

In  the  winter  following,  Mr.  Hendricks  made  his  first 
visit  to  the  Far  South.  On  the  1501  of  February  he  spoke 
to  a  large  audience  in  New  Orleans.  His  words  were 
calm,  temperate  and  encouraging. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  reign  of  irresponsible  gov 
ernments.  In  speaking  of  the  events  of  this  period  in  the 
South,  a  writer  is  always  confronted  with  the  seeming 
incredibility  of  those  events.  Can  it  be  received  for  truth 
that  the  legislative  expenses  of  a  single  session  in  South 
Carolina  were  $i,533»574-78?  Can  we  believe  that  agov- 


THE    CAMPAIGNS    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  303 

ernment  seraglio  was  furnished  at  State  expense,  and  that 
the  gold  watches,  jewels,  laces,  vases,  toilet  sets  and  at 
tire  of  courtesans  were  charged  to  the  expense  account 
and  paid  for  by  the  disbursing  officer  of  the  Legislature? 
Yet  these  are  facts  attested  by  the  official  records  of  that 
State  for  the  fiscal  year  '71-2,  and  few  things  are  better 
established  by  human  testimony.  Such  may  be  the  con 
dition  of  any  State  where  irresponsible  government  is 
maintained  by  external  force  of  arms.  That  such  a 
result  was  intended,  desired,  or  understood  by  the  men 
of  the  North,  is  not  to  be  supposed  for  an  instant.  Un 
constitutional  measures  had  simply  failed.  And  so  will 
they,  always. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

Nothing  ever  happened  to  better  demonstrate  the  popu 
larity  of  Mr.  Hendricks  and  the  strength  of  his  hold 
upon  the  affections  of  the  people  of  Indiana,  than  the 
elections  of  1872.  In  spite  of  much  dissatisfaction  with 
General  Grant's  Administration,  the  Republican  party 
nominated  him  for  a  second  term  at  its  Convention  which 
met  in  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  June.  Henry  Wilson, 
of  Massachusetts,  was  nominated  for  the  second  place 
on  the  ticket. 

Before  this,  however,  those  Republicans— the  progeni 
tors  of  the  Mugwump— who  were  tired  of  the  corruptions 
of  their  party  and  also  of  its  tariff  policy,  had  met  at  Cin 
cinnati  (May  ist),  and  as  though  sick  with  political  blind 
ness  had  chosen  Horace  Greeley  as  their  candidate  for 
the  Presidency,  associating  with  him  B.  Gratz  Brown  of 
Missouri. 

Honest  government  and  universal  amnesty  were  de 
manded  in  the  platform  of  the  revolters  from  corruption 
and  sectionalism.  There  was  a  charm  in  the  new  move 
ment  which  enlisted  popular  sympathy  at  once,  and  saga 
cious  politicians  seemed  to  see  in  it  the  advance  of  a  great 
tidal  wave,  which  would  overwhelm  all  opposition.  But 
it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  nominations  were  unfor 
tunate.  Political  sentiment  can  not  be  divorced  from  the 
demands  of  the  hour  for  practical  measures.  Granting 
the  honesty,  the  large-hearted  philanthropy  and  the  in 
nate  goodness  of  Horace  Greeley,  what  was  his  posi- 

(  304  ) 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  305 

tion  on  finance?  What  were  his  views  on  Resumption 
and  the  tariff?  Unsound,  all.  Sober  second  thought 
withdrew  the  half-extended  hands  of  the  people.  The 
tidal  wave  ebbed  ere  it  had  risen  far. 

After  the  Cincinnati  Convention  had  done  its  work  the 
old  important  question  was,  what  will  the  Democratic  party 
do?  It  hardly  seemed  possible  that  it  would  indorse 
Mr.  Greeley,  its  relentless  opponent  for  a  third  of  a  cen 
tury.  It  could  do  this  only  on  the  theory  that  the  issues 
presented  at  Cincinnati  were  the  overshadowing  interests 
— practically  the  sole  issues — of  the  hour. 

This,  however,  the  Democrats  did,  at  their  Conven 
tion,  which  met  in  Baltimore  on  the  pth  of  June.  A  fourth 
National  Convention  met  at  Louisville,  and  nominated 
Charles  O'Conor  and  Charles  Francis  Adams,  as  leaders 
of  recalcitrant  Democrats.  There  never  was  so  unwise  a 
political  move  as  the  Democratic  ratification  of  the  Lib 
eral  Republican  nominations  ;  for  the  Democrats  who 
would  vote  for  Greeley  must  sacrifice,  for  the  time  at 
least,  the  principles  of  their  whole  lives.  This  was 
more  than  large  numbers  of  them  could  do ;  hence  the 
stay-at-home  vote  was  unreasonably  large,  and  Mr.  Gree 
ley  was  the  worst  beaten  candidate  that  ever  ran  for  the 
office.  The  State  campaign  was  a  vigorous  one  ;  for  Indi 
ana,  voting  in  October,  was  a  "  pivotal  "  State,  and  it  had 
to  be  carried  at  all  hazards.  ^General  Thomas  M.  Browne 
was  the  Republican  candidate  for  Governor,  while  the 
Democratic  ticket  was  headed  by  Mr.  Hendricks^The 
canvass  was  thoroughly  made  by  both  parties— as  is  always 
the  case  in  Indiana.  The  State  was  filled  with  speakers 
and  almost  swamped  with  literature  ;  campaign  clubs  were 
numerous.  There  was  not  the  usual  amount  of  fire  works, 
noise  or  enthusiasm  ;  however,  there  was  much  discus 
sion,  and  there  were  probably  few  citizens  in  the  State 
who  did  not  get  a  glimpse  of  one  or  both  the  candidates. 
20 


306  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

Indiana  could  not  desert  Mr.  Hendricks  ;  and  sadly 
as  the  Republican  party  needed  the  moral  effect  of  an 
October  victory,  and  desperately  as  its  leaders  tried  to  gain 
that  victory,  Hendricks  was  elected  over  his  opponent  by 
a  majority  of  1,148.  The  only  other  Democrat  who  was 
successful  was  the  candidate  for  the  office  of  Superin 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction,  Milton  B.  Hopkins.  This 
was  a  remarkable  result.  \Hendricks  was  the  first  Demo 
cratic  Governor  elected  in  a  Northern  State  after  the  wai^ 
— and  this  was  in  Indiana,  right  on  the  border,  as  one  may 
say,  where  the  war  feeling  was  very  high,  and  when  there 
had  been  trouble  at  home.  No  one  can  question  Indi 
ana's  loyalty  or  her  devotion  to  the  Union. 

Again,  the  Democratic  party  was  badly  demoralized  on 
the  Greeley  episode.  It  Was  not  at  all  in  fighting  trim. 
Democrats  had  lost  heart- — they  had  no  interest  in  the 
election — but  they  would  go  to  the  polls  to  vote  for  Hen 
dricks. 

When  the  November  election  came,  poor  Greeley  was 
beaten  in  Indiana  by  a  majority  of  22,924.  In  one  short 
month  the  majority  of  1,100  for  Hendricks  had  changed 
to  one  of  nearly  23,000  the  other  way. 

Before  the  da}^  arrived  for  the  meeting  of  the  Electors 
in  the  various  States,  Greeley  was  dead  ;  and  the  question 
arose,  for  whom  should  the  Democratic  electors  vote?  Of 
course  they  were  free  to  choose — as  they  were  legally 
before  the  death  of  their  party's  candidate — but  it 
had  been  many  years  since  this  freedom  had  been  exer 
cised.  Each  Elector  considers  himself  in  honor  bound  to 
vote  for  the  man  his  party  has  declared  to  be  its  choice, 
and  so  solemn  was  this  obligation  felt  to  be,  that  five  gen 
tlemen  from  Georgia  threw  their  votes  for  a  dead  man, 
rather  than  violate  what  they  looked  upon  as  a  sacred 
trust.  So  it  was  that  Horace  Greeley,  though  dead,  re 
ceived  five  electoral  votes,  though  they  were  thrown  out 
by  the  Senate.  The  Democratic  party  had  chosen  Horace 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  307 

Greeley  as  its  candidate  ;  these  Georgia  Democrats  could 
but  respect  the  choice.  The  other  Electors,  however,  were 
not  so  punctilious,  and  most  of  them  voted  for  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks,  instinctively  looking  to  him  as  their  great  party 
leader. 

^Mr.  Hendricks's  term  as  Governor  was  not  a  common 
place  one,  by  any  means.  The  whole  machinery  of  the 
State  government  was  in  the  hands  of  his  political  ene 
mies.  The  Legislature  was  largely  Republican,  and 
affairs  are  not  apt  to  go  altogether  without  friction  when 
the  Executive  and  Legislative  Departments  differ  in  po 
litical  faith^ 

^"Nevertheless,  the  administration  of  Governor  Hendricks 
was  in  every  way  creditable  to  himself  and  to  his  party. 
His  never-failing  courtesy,  his  great  urbanity  and  his  wide 
tolerance,  served  to  soften  the  asperities  of  political  war 
fare,  and  so  to  render  impossible  any  serious  difference  be 
tween  himself  and  the  legislative  majority 77 

Governor  Hendricks  chose  for  his  Private  Secretary 
Mr.  Samuel  R.  Downey,  thus  honoring  the  son  of  his 
old  competitor  of  1860,  Hon.  A.  C.  Downey,  the  emi 
nent  jurist.  So  exceptionally  efficient  were  the  services 
of  this  gentleman  that  he  was  retained  through  the  next 
administration — that  of  Governor  James  D.  Williams — 
serving  in  all  eight  years.  The  executive  office  consisted 
of  two  chambers  on  the  lower  floor  of  the  old  State  House, 
but  these  were  exchanged  in  June  for  the  rooms  still  used 
(1886)  by  the  Governor  of  Indiana,  in  the  building  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  Washington  and  Tennessee  streets, 
then  recently  erected  for  the  temporary  accommodation 
of  the  State  Government. 

The  General  Assembly  met  early  in  January,  1873.  The 
Inaugural  address  of  the  new  Governor  was  delivered  on 
the  1 3th  of  the  month.  It  was  a  very  brief  and  sensible 
document — dignified  and  temperate,  as  were  all  the  ut 
terances  of  the  man.  Even  the  Opposition  press  could 


308  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

make  no  criticism  except  that  the  paper  dealt  somewhat 
with  national  politics,  and  admitted  that  it  was  fairly  good 
and  that  most  of  its  recommendations  were  wise. 

When  we  recollect  that  several  of  the  States  of  the 
Union,  notably  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  were  at  that 
time  total!}r  deprived  of  the  right  of  self-government  and 
at  the  mercy  of  irresponsible  rulers  supported  by  Federal 
bayonets,  we  will  not  think  it  strange  that  a  Democratic 
Governor  of  a  Northern  State  should  deem  it  wise  to 
review  in  an  official  paper,  the  great  principles  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  liberty — principles  which  the  majority  in  Congress 
seemed  to  have  but  little  respect  for,  yet  which  can  not 
be  held  too  sacred  by  American  freemen. 

Among  the  most  important  recommendations  were 
certain  changes  m  the  election  laws  in  the  interest  of 
honest  elections,  and  some  scheme  for  minority  represent 
ation,  in  which  principle  Mr.  Hendricks  was  a  firm  be 
liever. 

Decidedly  the  most  important  act  of  this  Legislature 
was  the  passage  of  the  Baxter  law — a  very  rigid  law  for 
the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic.  The  temperance 
question  did  not  divide  men  on  party  lines  thirteen  years 
ago  any  more  than  it  does  to-day.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  shuffling  on  both  sides,  and  the  party  papers  dis 
cussed  the  Baxter  bill  with  bated  breath.  "  It  would  un 
doubtedly  accomplish  much  good,"  they  would  say  in 
one  sentence  ;  in  the  next  they  would  speak  of  its  great 
severity,  and  suggest  that  if  it  did  not  work  well  it  could 
be  amended  or  repealed. 

On  the  5th  day  of  February  it  passed  the  House  by  a 
vote  of  53  to  36,  eleven  Democrats  voting  in  the  affirma 
tive.  The  Senate  passed  it  by  a  vote  of  30  to  19,  six- 
Democratic  Senators  voting  aye.  The  Governor  signed 
the  bill  February  27th.  This  was  in  many  respects  the  most 
radical  liquor  law  in  the  West.  It  is  impossible  to  give 
more  than  a  brief  synopsis  of  the  law  in  this  place.  It 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  309 

made  it  unlawful  to  sell  or  give  away  any  intoxicating 
liquors  to  be  drunk  upon  the  premises,  without  obtaining 
a  permit  from  the  County  Commissioners.  The  applicant 
was  required  to  file  with  the  Commissioners  a  petition 
signed  by  a  majority  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  ward, 
town  or  township,  showing  that  he  was  a  proper  person 
to  have  such  a  permit,  and  to  file  a  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$3,000  conditioned  for  the  payment  of  fines,  costs  and 
damages  resulting  from  the  sale  of  liquors  sol'd  by  him. 
Permits  were  forfeited  for  the  violation  of  any  of  the  pro 
visions  of  the  law,  and  no  new  permit  could  be  granted 
for  five  years.  Sales  to  minors,  intoxicated  persons  or 
persons  in  the  habit  of  becoming  intoxicated,  were  for 
bidden.  Any  person  causing  the  drunkenness  of  another 
was  held  liable  for  the  reasonable  expense  of  taking  care 
of  the  drunkard.  Drunkenness  was  made  unlawful  and 
punishable  by  fine.  No  liquor  could  be  sold  on  any  pub 
lic  holiday  or  between  the  hours  of  9  P.  M.,  and  6  A.  M. 
Any  device  to  evade  this  law  was  unlawful.  Any  one 
injured  by  the  intoxication  of  another  was  given  a  right 
of  action  in  which  exemplary  damages  might  be  re 
covered,  and  the  real  estate  where  such  liquor  was  sold 
was  made  liable  for  such  damages. 

From  these  provisions — and  they  are  the  most  impor 
tant — it  will  be  seen  that  this  was  a  pretty  advanced  law. 
In  the  belief  that  the  people  wanted  it.  Governor  Hen- 
dricks — though  not  in  sympathy  with  it  as  it  came  to  him 
— felt  that  he  could  not  refuse  to  sign  it.  .Some  attempt 
was  made  to  enforce  it,  but  it  gave  so  little  satisfaction 
that  it  was  repealed  by  the  act  of  March  17,  1875. 

Besides  the  Baxter  bill,  which  proved  to  be  a  very  un 
satisfactory  measure,  the  Legislature  of  '73  gave  our  di 
vorce  laws  some  much  needed  attention  ;  increased  some 
what  the  salaries  of  the  Judges,  as  the  Governor  had 
recommended  ;  made  provision  for  increased  local  taxa 
tion  so  as  to  make  possible  longer  school  terms  ;  reformed 


310  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

the  criminal  procedure  so  as  to  give  the  State  the  opening 
and  closing  in  criminal  trials,  and  so  as  to  allow  the 
accused  to  testify  in  his  own  behalf;  and  abolished  the 
office  of  State  printer. 

Of  course  there  was  about  the  usual  amount  of  unfin 
ished  business,  but  it  must  be  owned  that  it  was  not  a  bad 
Legislature.  It  adjourned  in  the  middle  of  March. 

Immediately  after  the  Governor  signed  the  Baxter  bill, 
the  State  was  alarmed  by  a  rumor  of  his  death ;  and 
indeed  he  narrowly  escaped  the  loss  of  his  life  from  a  fall 
on  slippery  stone  steps  of  his  home,  then  on  Tennessee 
street,  at  the  corner  of  St.  Clair.  For  some  days  he  was 
seriously  ill,  but  his  strong  constitution  carried  him 
through. 

On  the  loth  day  of  September,  1873,  the  First  Indiana 
polis  Exposition  was  opened  with  appropriate  ceremonies. 
Mr.  Hendricks,  as  Governor,  made  the  principal  address, 
giving  a  sketch  of  the  project,  dwelling  upon  the  great 
importance  of  such  exhibitions,  and  urging  the  people  to 
do  what  they  could  to  make  the  Exposition  a  success. 
The  address  was  very  graceful  indeed,  and  in  every  way 
suited  to  the  occasion.  It  but  furnished  another  illustra 
tion  of  Mr.  Hendricks's  remarkable  ability  to  say  the 
right  word  in  the  right  place. 

In  January,  1874, tnere  was  an  extensive  railroad  strike 
at  Logansport,  and  in  March  of  the  same  year  there 
was  trouble  with  the  Clay  county  miners.  These  mat 
ters  were  handled  with  much  skill  by  the  Executive,  and 
quiet  was  restored  without  any  serious  outbreak  having 
occurred. 

Things  moved  along  quietly  until  July,  when,  on  the 
1 5th,  the  Democratic  State  Convention  met  at  the  Acad 
emy  of  Music  in  Indianapolis.  The  Convention  was  a 
very  large  one,  numbering  over  1800  delegates.  Mr. 
McDonald,  Chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee, 
introduced  Governor  Hendricks,  the  Permanent  Chair- 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  311 

man  of  the  Convention,  as  the  "  next  President  of  the 
United  States."  The  Chairman's  speech  was  a  model  one 
for  the  occasion.  One  paragraph  of  it  would  serve  as  a 
plank  for  a  winning  platform  to-day.  We  can  not  refrain 
from  quoting  it  in  this  connection,  so  excellent  is  it. 

"A  rigid  economy  in  public  expenditures  never  ex 
ceeding  the  absolute  wants  and  demands  of  the  public 
service ;  unconditional  obedience  to  constitutional  prohi 
bitions  and  a  close  adherence  to  constitutional  require 
ments  in  all  official  conduct ;  integrity  to  pervade  and 
animate  all  the  public  service,  and  reform  to  be  wrought 
wherever  needed  ;  local  self  government  and  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  States  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  to  be  preserved  and  maintained  ;  and  the 
legal  subordination  of  corporate  and  all  special  rights  and 
privileges  to  the  paramount  rights,  interests  and  welfare — 
are  well-known  and  conceded  sentiments  of  our  party, 
but  they  can  not  be  too  often  reasserted." 

A  good  chart  was  that  for  the  Convention  to  steer  by, 
in  the  construction  of  its  platform. 

The  Governor  declared  himself  in  favor  of  the  resump 
tion  of  specie  payments,  and  made  this  very  sensible  state 
ment  :  "If  we  are  to  have  a  paper  currency — and  I  be 
lieve  all  concede  that  our  condition  requires  its  continu 
ance  for  some  indefinite  period — then  I  know  of  no  rule  or 
standard  to  determine  the  quantity  but  the  demands  of 
the  legitimate  business  of  the  country  "  We  have  grown 
wiser  since  that  time,  for  we  have  discovered  that  Con 
gress  can  regulate  the  volume  of  our  currency  much  more 
effectively  than  old  fashioned  natural  laws,  in  which 
Governor  Hendricks  evidently  believed  ! 

As  to  the  Baxter  bill,  the  speaker  explained  that  that 
bill  was  clearly  not  a  piece  of  hasty  or  inconsiderate  leg 
islation,  but  that  on  the  contrary  it  represented  the  de 
liberate  judgment  and  will  of  the  Legislature ;  and  as 


312  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

it  was  unquestionably  constitutional,  he  had  signed  it. 
It  was  not  supported  by  public  opinion,  and  therefore 
did  not  accomplish  the  end  aimed  at ;  it  had  encountered 
hostility  even  among  temperance  people.  He  thought 
that  the  next  Legislature  would  modify  or  repeal  it ;  and 
as  Prohibition  had  been  decided  unconstitutional,  regu 
lation  of  the  traffic  was  all  that  was  left.  He  himself  fa 
vored  the  license  system. 

The  platform  arraigned  the  Administration  by  pointing 
out  abuses  specifically,  denounced  the  Republicans,  and 
declared  in  favor  of  a  strict  construction  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  its  Amendments,  and  the  impartial  enforcement 
of  the  laws  ;  tariff  for  revenue  ;  local  self-government ; 
return  to  specie  payment  as  soon  as  the  business  interests 
of  the  country  would  permit ;  payment  of  the  Five-Twenty 
bonds  in  greenbacks,  as  the  law  provided  ;  a  liberal  sys 
tem  of  education  for  both  whites  and  blacks :  against  all 
official  gratuities  in  the  form  of  retroactive  salaries  both 
State  and  National,  high  fees  and  salaries,  the  Civil  Rights 
bill  (since  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  Federal  Su 
preme  Court)  ;  and  closed  by  demanding  economy,  re 
form,  and  finally  the  repeal  of  the  Baxter  law. 

The  ticket  was  as  follows:  Secretary  of  State,  John  E. 
NefF;  Auditor,  Eb.  Henderson  ;  Treasurer,  B.  C.  Shaw  ; 
Attorney  General,  Clarence  A.  Buskirk ;  Judge  of  Su 
preme  Court,  Horace  P.  Biddle  ;  Superintendent  of  Pub 
lic  Instruction,  James  H.  Smart. 

On  Monday,  September  14th,  in  the  "Wigwam"  at 
Indianapolis,  the  Governor  delivered  an  extended  speech, 
which  is  still  remembered  as  one  of  the  ablest  of  his  polit 
ical  utterances.  It  is  reproduced  farther  on  in  this  vol 
ume.  It  was  extensively  read  in  all  the  States,  and 
shaped  the  issues  of  the  national  canvass.  But  the  cam 
paign,  as  the  Sentinel  said  on  the  eve  of  the  election,  was 
"  dull  and  spiritless."  The  Democratic  ticket  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  17,252,  winning  even  in  Marion  county. 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  313 

The  Democrats  also  carried  the  Legislature  and  elected 
nine  out  of  thirteen  Congressmen.  It  was  a  tidal  wave,  in 
deed.  Indiana  was  getting  ready  for  1876. 

On  December  29th  he  delivered  the  address  of  wel 
come  to  the  State  Teachers'  Association,  which  met  in 
the  hall  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building,  This  was  one  of 
the  most  graceful  of  his  shorter  addresses. 

The  new  Legislature  did  not  adjourn  without  repealing 
the  obnoxious  Baxter  law.  The  repealing  statute,  which 
became  a  law  on  the  iyth  day  of  March,  1875,  was  simply 
a  license  law — substantially  the  one  in  force  to-day — and 
looked  only  to  the  regulation  of  the  traffic,  thus  again 
following  the  suggestion  of  the  Governor.  The  Legisla 
ture  was,  as  has  been  said,  Democratic,  and  Indiana  Dem 
ocrats  were  proud  to  follow  when  Hendricks  led  the  way  ; 
indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  even  the  Republicans,  were  not 
above  adopting  an  occasional  suggestion  of  this  Demo 
cratic  Governor. 

The  Assembly  met  on  the  7th  day  of  January,  1875.  The 
Senate  was  organized  by  the  Republicans  and  "  Inde 
pendents,"  and  the  House  by  the  Democrats,  the  latter 
having  a  majority  on  joint  ballot. 

The  Governor's  Message  was  a  remarkable  document, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  expression  of  the  Jotirnal  upon 
this  subject.  That  paper  called  it  a  "business-like  docu 
ment  "  and  proceeded  with  its  comments  thus  :  t%  It  is  a 
lucid,  orderly  and  succinct  exposition  of  the  details 
necessary  to  inform  the  Legislature  of  the  subjects  upon 
which  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  must  act.  It 
does  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  any  state  paper  of 
like  character  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  It  leaves 
little  that  needed  or  suggested  discussion  overlooked  ;  and 
notwithstanding  the  author's  well  known  aversion  to  de 
cided  expressions  on  positive  measures,  is  liberally  fur 
nished  with  recommendations,  in  which  we  think  public 
opinion  will  concur.  It  is  creditable  to  the  State  and  to 


314  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

the  Governor,  as  showing  not  only  a  thorough  masterv  of 
our  business,  but  of  a  clear  and  compact  business  style 
of  statement."  That  is  high  praise,  coming  from  a  polit 
ical  paper  whose  business  it  was  to  find  fault. 

The  session  was  a  singularly  barren  one.  The  Fee 
and  Salary  bill  failed,  the  Appropriation  bills  all  failed,  the 
temperance  bill  failed,  the  educational  bill  failed,  and  no 
tax  levy  was  made.  This  inaction  was  due  to  the  antag 
onism  between  the  two  Houses.  The  Sentinel \  in  an  ed 
itorial  fairly  dividing  the  responsibility,  uses  the  follow 
ing  language  :  "It  has  spent  sixty  days  in  fruitless  debate, 
and  has  had  the  unparalleled  impudence  to  adjourn  with 
out  making  the  ordinary  provision  for  carrying  on  the 
State  Government." 

Of  course  a  special  session  was  necessary,  and  it  was 
called  immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  regular 
session.  The  Governor's  message  was  brief  but  pointed. 
In  five  days  the  work  that  had  been  left  undone  was  all 
completed,  and  the  Legislature  had  adjourned.  The  Fee 
and  Salary  bill  was  passed,  as  was  the  License  law 
repealing  the  Baxter  bill,  and  on  March  nth  the  act  au 
thorizing  the  construction  of  the  new  Insane  Hospital 
building  became  a  law. 

Affairs  ran  along  very  smoothly  during  1875.  There 
was  no  general  election  in  that  year,  and  the  people 
were  saving  themselves  for  the  great  struggle  in  the  fol 
lowing  year.  The  paper  money  craze  was  sweeping 
through  the  West,  and  Indiana  was  not  exempt  from  the 
ravages  of  the  disease. 

In  September,  Governor  Hendricks  made  several 
speeches  in  Ohio,  in  aid  of  the  Democratic  State  cam 
paign,  notably  at  Zanesville,  in  his/native  county,  on  the 
3d,  where  Governor  Allen,  candidate  for  re-election,  ap 
peared  with  him,  and  the  two  /Governors  were  honored 
with  a  serenade  and  unusual  demonstrations  of  enthu 
siasm. 


GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA.  315 

In  October,  the  Commission  of  the  proposed  Centen 
nial  Exposition  invited  the  Governors  of  the  States  to 
meet  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  enter 
prise.  At  this  meeting  his  address  was  well  received. 
The  Americus  Club,  taking  advantage  of  his  presence  in 
their  city,  invited  him  to  address  them  ;  and  he  gave 
them,  October  22d,  an  able  speech  upon  the  political  issues 
of  the  day.  It  dealt  very  largely  with  the  financial  ques 
tion,  and  pronounced  clearly  for  resumption  of  specie 
payments,  though  criticising  severely  the  bill  of  Senator 
Sherman.  The  speech  was  a  very  strong  one,  and  was 
received  with  much  enthusiasm.  Governor  Hendricks 
made  a  great  many  speeches  and  addresses  during  his 
term  of  office,  and  they  were  without  exception  most 
felicitous. 

In  February,  1876,  Governor  Hendricks  visited  the  far 
South,  and  was  warmly  received  at  New  Orleans,  where 
he  addressed  a  large  audience  upon  political  issues,  fore 
shadowing  the  approaching  campaign.  This  year  Indi 
ana,  an  October  State,  was  the  battle  ground,  and  it  was 
true  to  Hendricks.  After  an  exciting  canvass,  James  D. 
Williams  was  elected  Governor  over  Benjamin  Harrison, 
and  in  November  the  State  went  for  Tilden  and  Hen 
dricks  by  6,000  plurality. 

Early  in  1877  Mr.  Hendricks  delivered  his  last  mes 
sage  to  the  General  Assembly, — a  long  paper,  compre 
hensive  and  able,  recommending,  among  other  things, 
the  erection  of  a  new  State  House.  Thus  closed  his 
Gubernatorial  career.  It  had  been  a  singularly  good 
one,  and  the  interests  of  the  State  had  been  most  care 
fully  looked  after.  The  retiring  Governor's  strongest  ap- 
ponents  were  forced  to  admit  the  great  skill  with  which 
the  office  had  been  conducted — and  in  nothing  was  this 
skill  more  clearly  shown  than  in  the  very  trying  matter  of 
pardons — and  they  could  not  but  respect  the  purity,  in 
tegrity,  patriotism  and  ability  of  Mr.  Hendricks. 


316  GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA. 

During  most  of  his  term  as  Governor,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hendricks  lived  in  their  own  house,  a  substantial  brick 
residence  on  Tennessee  street,  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
St.  Clair.  Their  hospitality  was  generous  and  elegant 
without  ostentation,  and  their  own  delightful  social  qualities 
£ave  them  a'popularity  which  mere  official  position  would 
never  have  won.  In  the  winters  of  the  legislative  sessions 
they  entertained  the  members  at  dinner,  and  the  mem 
bers  and  the  public  together  at  fortnightly  receptions, 
while  the  best  people  of  the  city  thronged  their  rooms  on 
all  convenient  occasions. 

Mrs.  Hendricks  took  great  interest  in  her  husband's 
work,  and  visited  with  him  the  penal  and  benevolent  in 
stitutions  of  the  State.  Her  observations  and  advice  in 
regard  to  these  were  of  great  practical  value.  In  1875 
her  health  absolutely  required  rest  and  change  ;  so  she 
spent  three  months  with  relatives  in  California,  the  longest 
period  she  was  ever  separated  from  her  husband.  In  the 
summer  of  '76  they  broke  up  housekeeping,  and  lived  for 
a  year  or  more  at  the  Bates  House,  where,  though  not 
entertaining  formally,  they  were  easily  accessible,  and 
were  as  cordial  to  visitors  as  ever. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  again  a  private  citizen,  and  by  the 
decision  of  the  Electoral  Commission,  he  was  destined 
to  remain  in  private  life. 

But  he  did  not  need  office  to  make  him  great  or  happy  ; 
ind  so  the  eight  years  of  his  retirement,  passed  for  the 
most  part  in  his  home  at  Indianapolis,  were  very  pleasant 
years  to  him.     He  could  afford  to  wait. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

Having  received  a  majority  of  the  Democratic  electo 
ral  votes  in  1872,  Governor  Hendricks  became  at  once 
the  recognized  leader  of  his  party  in  the  whole  country  ; 
while  the  fact  that  he  wras  the  first  Democrat  elected  Gov 
ernor  of  any  Northern  State  after  the  war,  added  greatly 
to  the  prestige  he  had  enjoyed  at  the  time  of  the  Conven 
tion  of  '68.  He  had  made  the  first  breach  in  the  Repub 
lican  lines  ;  he  alone  had  led  to  victory  a  division  of  the 
Democratic  hosts,  in  the  year  of  their  national  disaster. 
His  pure  and  able  administration  of  the  State  government 
was  an  earnest  of  what  might  be  hoped  from  a  Demo 
cratic  national  administration  with  Hendricks  in  the  Pres 
idential  chair.  His  ability  to  organize  and  uphold  his 
party  was  proved  during  his  term  as  Governor.  In  '72 
he  was  almost  alone  in  his  success,  and  it  was  said  that 
his  election  was  an  accident.  But  in  1874,  tne  middle 
of  his  term,  the  entire  Democratic  State  ticket  was  tri 
umphant,  and  it  began  to  be  seen  that  under  his  lead,  In 
diana  was  safely  Democratic. 

Had  it  not  been  for  a  remarkable  train  of  events  in  the 
East,  which  possessed  great  dramatic  interest  and  at 
tracted  the  public  attention  to  themselves  in  the  years  of 
his  term,  Governor  Hendricks  would  probably  have  been 
nominated  for  the  Presidency  by  acclamation  in  the  next 
Democratic  Convention. 

The  tendency  of  the  people  in  the  later  decades  to 
gather  into  the  business  centers,  and  the  consequent 

(317) 


318  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

rapid  growth  of  cities,  at  a  time  when  the  interest  in  na 
tional  politics  overshadows  local  affairs,  have  been  pro 
lific  of  great  evils  in  the  government  of  large  cities,  and 
have  caused  many  patriotic  men  to  doubt  the  wisdom  of 
an  unrestricted  suffrage  in  municipal  government.  Es 
pecially  deplorable  was  the  condition  of  the  city  of  New 
%York,  the  population  of  which  is  so  largely  foreign  and 
transient,  and  made  up  of  people  unused  to  such  a  meas 
ure  of  political  power  ;  for  the  restraints  of  permanent  res 
idence  and  individual  property  are  needed  safeguards  of 
a  free  ballot.  The  corruption,  the  arrogance,  the  in 
trenched  power  of  the  Tweed  Ring  need  not  be  described 
here.  The  overthrow  of  that  Ring  was  a  shining  deed 
of  knighthood.  To  grapple  with  the  monster  was  a 
hazard  which  none  but  the  most  courageous  man,  pos 
sessed  of  all  the  elements  of  power,  could  assume.  It 
.was  left  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  Americans  in 
private  life  to  render  that  great  service  to  the  people. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  a  descendant  of  men  of  the  May 
flower  and  of  the  Revolution,  a  noted  political  writer  and 
philosopher,  a  gentleman  of  vast  wealth  and  of  the  high 
est  eminence  at  the  bar,  was  called  by  the  necessities  of 
the  hour  to  assist  actively  in  the  work  of  political  reform. 
With  such  men  statesmanship  is  a  passion,  the  spoils  of 
office  are  nothing.  Never  seeking  political  honors,  he 
had  been  for  many  years  the  counselor  of  statesmen  on 
all  great  public  questions.  He  had  notably  influenced  the 
Cabinet  of  Lincoln  in  times  of  national  peril ;  and  two 
members  of  that  Cabinet  eventually  became  numbered 
with  his  political  adherents.  Always  a  Democrat,  he 
was  often  wiser  than  his  party.  His  home  in  the  City  of 
New  York  and  his  villa  on  the  Hudson  were  the  resorts 
of  men  of  letters,  statesmanship  and  art ;  and  his  libra 
ries,  his  paintings,  his  sculptures  and  his  princely  hospi 
tality  were  famed  even  in  foreign  lands.  The  unsought 
nomination  of  such  a  man  in  '72  for  Governor  of  New 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  31  $ 

York  was  an  event  invested  with  singular  interest.  His 
triumphant  election  in  spite  of  a  large  defection  of  spoils 
men  who  had  called  themselves  Democrats,  and  the  phe 
nomenal  breaking  down  of  party  lines  among  the  best 
classes  of  the  people,  were  marvels  in  our  political  his 
tory. 

The  two  years  following  formed  a  period  in  the  history 
of  Indiana  and  New  York  of  which  every  American  is 
proud.  The  contrast  between  the  State  administrations 
and  the  course  of  the  Government  at  Washington  was 
vivid  in  the  extreme  ;  for  the  last  term  of  the  great  soldier 
was  clouded  by  deplorable  scandals  in  the  public  service, 
which  even  his  own  unimpeachable  integrity  was  power 
less  to  prevent.  Throughout  these  years  the  names  of 
Hendricks  and  Tilden  were  everywhere  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  next  Presidential  nomination. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  of  1876  was  the 
first  ever  held  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  convened  in  St. 
Louis  on  June  27th,  in  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the 
largest  auditorium  in  America.  General  John  A.  Mc- 
Clernand  was  chosen  Permanent  Chairman.  His  address 
was  a  forcible  arraignment  of  the  Administration  and  an 
appeal  to  the  Convention  to  take  a  bold  stand  upon  the 
great  issue  of  reform. 

On  the  second  day  Judge  Meredith,  of  Virginia,  chair 
man  of  the  Committee  on  Platform,  presented  the  com 
mittee  report,  which  was  read  by  Lieutenant  Governor 
Dorsheimer,  whose  appearance  was  greeted  with  loud 
applause.  "  His  rendering  of  the  platform,"  says  a  con 
temporary,  "  was  unique.  Instead  of  the  monotonous, 
business-like  tone  into  which  platform  readers  usually 
fall,  his  voice  was  the  voice  of  oratory  and  his  gestures 
were  the  gestures  of  a  giant.  He  read  the  platform  with 
wonderful  effect,  giving  it  all  the  inflection  and  emphasis 
of  a  great  oration."  After  the  cheers  which  followed  the 
reading  had  subsided,  General  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  rose  and 


320  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAP . 

presented  a  minority  report,  suggesting  that  the  financial 
resolution  be  so  changed  as  to  demand  the  immediate  re 
peal  of  the  Resumption  clause  of  the  act  of  '75,  and  fol 
lowed  his  report  with  a  speech  in  advocacy  of  the  change. 
In  this,  however,  the  minority  of  the  committee  were  not 
sustained. 

After  an  animated  discussion,  the  vote  of  the  States 
was  taken,  when  it  was  found  that  the  majority  report  was 
sustained  by  515  of  the  734  delegates  present. 

As  soon  as  nominations  were  in  order,  Delaware  nomi 
nated  her  favorite  son,  Senator  Thomas  F.  Bayard.  Mr. 
Williams,  of  Illinois,  then  presented  the  name  of  Gover 
nor  Hendricks,  amid  great  applause.  Mr.  Fuller,  of 
Indiana,  seconded  the  nomination  in  an  eloquent  speech  ; 
and  Mr.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  followed,  to  say  that 
his  State  was  more  confident  of  success  with  Hendricks 
than  with  any  other  leader.  New  Jersey  brought  for 
ward  the  name  of  her  war  Governor,  Joel  Parker.  Fran 
cis  Kernan,  of  New  York,  then  nominated  Governor 
Tilden,  and  clearly  stated  the  reason  why  his  nominee 
was  to  be  deemed  by  the  Convention  the  most  available. 
The  nomination  was  seconded  by  Colonel  Flournoy,  of 
Virginia,  and  Mr.  Herndon,  of  Texas,  who  predicted  a 
sweeping  victory  under  the  great  reformer's  banner.  But 
their  most  sanguine  estimates  of  his  prospective  majority 
fell  far  short  of  the  outcome.  Ohio  came  forward  with 
ex-Governor  William  Allen.  Pennsylvania  offered  her 
gallant  soldier,  General  Winfield  Scott  Hancock. 

Ere  the  nominations  closed,  ex-Senator  Doolittle,  of 
Wisconsin,  made  a  strong  plea  for  the  nomination  of  Hen 
dricks,  assigning  as  a  reason  that  all  depended  upon  In 
diana,  while  New  York  was  already  safe  for  the  Democ 
racy.  He  did  not  foresee  that  in  the  grand  upheaval  of 
1876,  even  Indiana  could  have  been  spared  from  the 
Northern  States  !  Hendricks  was  needed  for  himself — 
not  merely  for  the  locality  in  which  he  resided. 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  321 

Added  to  the  aforementioned  circumstances  which 
made  Mr.  Tilden's  nomination  apparently  more  oppor 
tune,  was  a  superstition  of  the  business  world  that  the  af 
fairs  of  finance  are  safest  in  the  hands  of  Eastern  men. 

The  first  ballot  was  as  follows  : 

Whole  number  of  votes 713 

Necessary  to  a  choice 476 

For  Tilden 403^ 

For  Hendricks J33i 

For  Hancock 75 

For  Allen '.    .    .    .    .    75 

For  Bayard 27 

For  Parker 18 

For  Broadhead 19 

Missouri  at  once  changed  fourteen  of  her  votes,  giving 
seven  to  Tilden  and  seven  to  Hendricks.  On  the  second 
ballot  Governor  Tilden  received  508  votes,  and  Governor 
Hendricks  75. 

Pennsylvania  moved  to  make  the  nomination  unani 
mous.  Indiana  seconded  the  motion,  which  was  carried 
without  dissent. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  to  meet  on  the  follow 
ing  morning.  During  the  interval  scarcely  any  one  was 
thought  of  for  the  Vice-Presidency  but  Governor  Hen 
dricks.  The  next  session  was  short.  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
placed  in  nomination,  in  the  face  of  a  protest  from  the 
Indiana  delegation  that  they  disavowed  all  responsibility 
for  the  act,  as  Governor  Hendricks  was  not  a  candidate 
for  the  honor.  In  the  midst  of  tumultuous  enthusiasm  the 
roll  of  States  was  called,  and  Indiana's  favorite  son  re 
ceived  all  but  eight  of  the  seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
votes,  and  the  nomination  was  at  once  made  unanimous. 
The  great  Convention  adjourned. 

The  platform  adopted  was  a  forcible  presentation  of 
21 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

principles.  It  was  unmistakably  favorable  to  "hard 
money."  Specifically  and  pointedly,  it  arraigned  the 
corrupt  men  who  had  brought  the  Administration  into 
disrepute  by  official  malfeasance.  Clearly  and  beauti 
fully  it  set  forth  the  "  moral  triumphs  of  a  hundred  years  " 
:n  the  establishment  of  true  principles  of  self-govern 
ment. 

From  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  letters  poured 
in  upon  Governor  Hendricks  from  eminent  men  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  urging  him  to  accept  the  unsought 
nomination.  Public  anxiety  was  not  relieved  until  his 
letter  of  acceptance  was  received,  simultaneously  with 
that  of  Governor  Tilden.  The  letter  was  admirably  con 
ceived  and  happily  expressed,  and  in  its  patriotic  tone 
and  breadth  of  view  is  one  of  the  models  of  political  cor 
respondence.  It  is  given  in  the  second  part  of  this  vol 
ume,  in  chronological  order,  among  the  speeches  and 
writings. 

There  was  a  moral  grandeur  in  the  campaign  of  '76. 
It  was  the  Centennial  year,  when  the  hearts  of  the  mil 
lions  were  filled  with  patriotic  pride  and  moved  by  no 
ordinary  impulses  ;  when  gratitude  to  the  Almighty  for 
His  mercies  was  upon  the  tongue  of  men  unused  to  prayer  ; 
when  the  soul  was  raised  to  the  highlands  of  faith  and 
hope  to  view  the  train  of  centuries  advancing ;  when  to 
the  reverted  gaze  the  fathers  of  our  country,  the  sages 
and  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  seemed  to  look  down  upon 
us,  never  so  real  before. 

The  key-note  of  reform  appealed  to  the  better  sense  of 
the  nation.  To  break  its  force,  Republican  editors 
and  orators  had  recourse  again  to  the  dead  issues  of 
the  war,  and  endeavored  to  fan  into  life  the  embers  of 
a  dying  hate.  It  proved  a  mistake.  North  and  South 
the  people  yearned  for  a  re-united  land  and  for  the  ces 
sation  of  strife.  It  was  amazing  to  hear  in  a  year  so  far 
removed  from  the  conflict  the  harsh  cry  of  the  Norse  god  : 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  323 

"  Force  rules  the  world  still, 
Has  ruled  it,  shall  rule  it ; 
Meekness  is  weakness ; 
Strength  is  triumphant ; 
Over  the  whole  earth 
Still  it  is  Thor's  day." 

And  from  the  hearts  of  the  people  came  back  the  an 
swer  of  St.  John : 

"  It  is  accepted, 
The  angry  defiance, 
The  challenge  to  battle. 
It  is  accepted, 
But  not  with  the  weapons 
Of  war  that  thou  wieldest 
Cross  against  corselet, 
Peace-cry  for  war-cry, 
Love  against  hatred." 

The  nominations  at  St.  Louis  were  appropriate  for  such 
a  time.  The  reformation  of  abuses  in  the  Government 
and  the  complete  reconciliation  of  the  North  and  South 
were  the  cardinal  issues.  The  banner  of  reform  and  re 
union  was  borne  by  the  most  eminent  of  statesmen ;  by 
men  of  spotless  character  and  broad,  national  views  and 
sentiments.  That  banner,  flung  to  the  breeze,  enlisted 
the  hearts  of  the  millions,  and  awakened  a  fervor  of  zeal, 
an  earnestness  of  purpose,  a  fixedness  of  resolve  and  a 
confidence  without  parallel. 

The  American  -plebiscit  is  called  a  campaign ,  in  allusion 
to  the  operations  of  an  army.  From  the  opening  to  the 
close  it  is  an  onward  march.  In  a  political  movement  of 
lofty  purpose,  of  historic  sentiment,  of  deep  moral  sig 
nificance,  the  metaphor  is  peculiarly  striking.  All  through 
the  season  of  '76  seemed  to  resound  the  tread  of  march 
ing  feet.  Each  day  brought  them  nearer,  nearer,  nearer. 
No  step  was  missed,  and  none  was  retraced.  There,  was 
perfect  cadence  in  that  unwavering  advance.  In  every 
village  and  hamlet  and  crossing  there  were  accessions, 
and  from  the  best  class  of  the  citizens.  Workers  in  the 


324  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

churches  and  the  schools,  men  of  thought  and  conviction, 
everywhere  swelled  the  ranks,  their  former  deep  preju 
dices  overcome  or  their  long  hesitation  gone.  It  ceased 
to  be  a  surprise,  ere  the  campaign  was  over,  for  the  most 
earnest  of  old-time  Republicans  to  enlist  under  the  ban 
ner  of  Tilden  and  Hendricks.  The  pageants  of  the  can 
vass  were  striking  as  to  numbers  and  display.  Yet  it 
was  not  the  appeals  to  the  eye  that  rendered  it  most  not 
able,  but  the  constant  cadence  of  the  march — the  foot-fall 
of  that  invisible  army  which,  by  night  or  day,  was  ad 
vancing  to  certain  victory.  That  victory  was  in  the  faces 
and  tones  of  men.  It  was  in  the  air.  It  was  as  real  as 
the  mountains  and  the  rivers  and  the  prairies. 

The  summer  wore  on  amid  the  unceasing  tread.  The 
guns  of  October  told  that  the  majority  were  returning  to 
power,  as  they  rang  in  unison  with  the  advancing  col 
umns.  Indiana  elected  her  full  Democratic  ticket  by  a 
handsome  majority  ;  and  even  Ohio  was  barely  saved  by 
the  Republicans.  When  the  November  day  closed  on 
which  the  ballots  fell,  the  great  work  was  done  ;  and  one 
might  almost  hear  the  exulting  millions  shout — 

"  We  are  come  !     We  are  come  !  " 

Can  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suffrage  be  made  an  act 
of  religious  solemnity,  a  holy  thing?  Sometimes  it  may 
seem  a  common-place  matter — an  unquestioned  right,  so 
general,  so  unrestricted  in  its  exercise,  and  sometimes 
so  unimportant  in  its  immediate  results,  that  a  just  sense 
of  its  value  is  lost.  We  estimate  our  privileges  aright 
when  we  are  deprived  of  them.  What  the  ballot  would 
have  been  to  Hungary,  to  Poland,  to  Ireland,  it  was  to 
the  South  in  '76.  Aye,  more.  Hungarians,  Poles  and  Celts 
were  less  alive  to  the  impulse  for  self-government  than 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  to  whom  since  1215  the  Magna  Charta 
has  been  a  birthright.  After  the  red  day  of  war,  had 
succeeded  the  long,  black  night  of  disfranchisement  and 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  325 

irresponsible  government.     The  morn  of  a  new  day  was 
about  to  break  ;  and  eternal  Hope  whispered — 

"  The  dawn  is  not  distant, 
Nor  is  the  night  starless. 
Love  is  eternal. 
God  is  still  God,  and 
His  faith  shall  not  fail  us. 
Christ  is  eternal." 

And  so,  for  the  first  time  in  sixteen  years,  the  men  of 
the  South  voted  the  will  of  the  people.  Home  again,  at 
last,  no  longer  men  without  a  country,  they  were  heirs  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson,  and  men  of  the  Republic. 
They  were  like  them  that  dream.  Then  was  their  mouth 
filled  with  laughter,  and  their  tongue  with  singing.  For 
their  captivity  was  turned  again,  as  the  streams  m  the 
South.  With  less  emotion,  but  with  no  firmer  convictions 
of  duty,  came  the  legions  of  the  North  to  the  polls.  They 
came  to  the  support  of  Reform  and  Reconciliation  in 
overwhelming  force.  They  thought  that  the  time  had 
come  for  a  new  Emancipation  Proclamation  which  should 
free  the  South  from  the  oppression  of  the  carpetbagger 
and  the  tyranny  of  federal  bayonets.  The  victory  that 
was  won  accomplished  this  beneficent  result,  although 
the  spoils  of  the  victory  remained  with  the  Republicans. 

Following  the  first  reliable  returns  was  a  time  of  jubi 
lation  unknown  since  the  fail  of  Richmond.  The  cities 
flashed  in  rivers  of  fire,  and  pyrotechnic  glories  melted 
into  the  stars.  Nature  was  in  sympathy  with  man.  Down 
from  the  far  North  swept  an  atmospheric  ocean,  cold  and 
clear.  Never  sped  the  sound  of  cannon  on  readier  wings. 
Never  shone  the  moon  and  stars  with  brighter  luster. 
Never  dawned  the  autumn  days  with  more  transcendent 
beauty.  How  the  joyous  thunders  of  artillery  rolled  and 
reverberated,  responsive  to  those  other  echoes,  which 

"  Roll  from  soul  to  soul, 
And  grow  forever  and  forever !  " 


326  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

If  any  Democrat  apprehended  that  the  election  would 
be  "  close,"  so  far  as  the  popular  vote  was  concerned,  he 
was  greatly  in  error.  From  the  time  when  the  people 
had  first  voted  in  Presidential  elections,  no  other  men  had 
•ever  received  anything  approaching  so  great  a  vote  as 
was  polled  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks.  Considered  with 
reference  to  the  majority  over  all  opposition,  and  leaving 
out  of  consideration  the  war  and  Reconstruction  years, 
when  an  expression  of  the  whole  people  was  not  had, 
and  the  single  year  in  which  there  was  no  Democrat 
nominated  (1872),  there  is  no  such  majority  to  be  found 
in  American  history.  In  the  first  popular  election  of 
Presidential  Electors  (1824),  Jackson  received  the  support 
of  a  plurality.  In  1828,  his  majority  was  138,124.  In 
1832,  his  majority  was  124,205.  In  1836,  Van  Buren's 
majority  was  24,893.  In  the  great  "tornado"  of  1840, 
the  majority  of  Harrison  was  140,256.  In  1844,  'Polk  re 
ceived  a  mere  plurality.  The  same  was  true  of  Taylor, 
in  1848.  In  the  splendid  victory  of  Pierce,  in  1852,  the 
majority  was  but  58,747.  Buchanan,  in  1856,  received  a 
mere  plurality  ;  and  so,  likewise,  did  Lincoln  in  1860. 
Tilden  and  Hendricks  received  a  majority  of  157,037  over 
all  opposition,  and  a  plurality  of  250,935,  even  according 
to  the  Returning  Boards,  and  after  the  throwing  out  of 
thousands  of  Democratic  votes.  These,  it  must  be  re 
membered,  are  Republican  figures. 

All  other  victories  at  the  polls  pale  into  insignificance 
before  it,  when  all  the  circumstances  are  considered. 
The  entire  influence  of  the  Federal  Government  was  used 
against  the  Democratic  nominees.  A  great  part  of  the 
suddenly  enfranchised  ex-slave  population,  unlettered 
and  utterly  bewildered,  was  stampeded  to  the  polls  under 
the  goading  menace  of  reenslavement  in  the  event  of 
Democratic  success — a  thing  so  ridiculous  as  to  obtain 
credence  only  among  the  most  helplessly  ignorant  of 
men.  Several  of  the  Southern  States  were  vet  controlled 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  327 

by  Federal  bayonets,  and  the  polls  were  shadowed  by 
soldiery — a  state  of  affairs  not  to  be  found  elsewhere  on 
<earth  in  a  land  of  Anglo-Saxon  government.  There 
were  three  other  tickets  in  the  field.  The  saintly  and 
venerated  Peter  Cooper,  the  working  man's  ideal,  with 
the  matchless  organizer  and  orator,  General  Sam  Gary, 
headed  a  formidable  movement  on  financial  issues.  The 
Prohibitionists  were  aggressive  in  their  canvass,  and  were 
led  by  an  able  man — Green  Clay  Smith.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  result  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  expecta 
tions,  though  the  success  of  the  ticket  was  scarcely  a 
matter  of  serious  doubt  at  any  time  during  the  canvass. 
The  loud  notes  of  the  popular  rejoicing  had  not  died 
away  ere  startling  rumors  filled  the  air.  In  the  interval 
between  the  popular  election  of  Presidential  Electors  and 
the  casting  of  the  electoral  ballot  (December  6),  what 
might  not  be  accomplished  by  the  irresponsible  clique  of 
adventurers  in  the  South  who  were  to  pass  upon  the  re 
turns?  The  preposterousness  of  a  reversal  of  so  tremend 
ous  an  expression  of  the  popular  will,  at  first  evoked  gen 
eral  laughter  ;  but  ere  long  the  public  mind  became  filled 
with  painful  apprehensions.  People  of  the  North  had  not 
fully  comprehended  the  situation.  Few  Republicans  of 
the  North  had  any  conception  of  the  remorseless  charac 
ter  of  the  usurpations  in  the  South,  labeled  4t  Republican/' 
The  remnants  of  that  unholy  crew  that  had  loaded  a 
crushed  and  broken  people  with  a  debt  of  three  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  that  had  plundered  out  of  existence 
the  public  schools,  that  had  enthroned  in  society  the  in 
iquities  of  Babylon — could  not  hesitate  at  any  deed  of 
crime.  The  plain  truth  of  their  record  had  been  received 
in  the  North  as  the  wildest  fiction.  The  name  Republi 
can,  hallowed  by  the  memory  of  Lincoln  and  Lovejoy 
and  Whittier  and  Emerson,  and  the  long  line  of  the  great 
and  good  who  had  borne  it  proudly,  was  the  cloak  in 


328  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

which  satyrs  were  masquerading  in  another  section.    And 
true  was  the  solemn  averment  of  the  South — 

"  I  hear  a  voice  you  can  not  hear, 
I  see  a  hand  you  c:m  not  see." 

In  Florida,  Louisiana  and   South   Carolina   an   iniqui 
tous  scheme  was  at  once  arranged.     Daring  politicians 
of  the  North  began  to  advance  the  claim  that  the   elec 
toral  votes  of  these  three  States  might  still  be  secured  by 
the    action    of    Returning    Boards ;    and    the    party    in 
power    at  once    seized  upon  the  claim  with  new  hope. 
It  must  be  said  that  such  machinery  was  unknown  in  th 
North,  and  of  course  the  moral  obliquity  involved  in  its 
operation  was  not  generally  understood  by  the  people  of 
the    Northern    States.      Through    our   electoral    system 
it  is  possible,  perhaps,  for  a  candidate  who  receives  the 
lowest  popular  vote  to  secure  the  Presidency  in  a  legal 
way,  though  no  President  had  ever  been  chosen  without 
a  plurality,  at  least,  of  the  votes  of  the  people  ;  and  it 
was  plausibly  argued  to  the  masses  that  such  a  contin 
gency  had  occurred.     To  corrupt  leaders,  and  not  to  the 
people,  must  attach  the  infamy  of  the  acts  which  followed. 
The  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  solemn  resolu 
tion    declaring    that    Tilden    and    Hendricks    had   been 
elected.     But  the    Senate  was   Republican,  and    would 
agree  to  no  course  of  proceedings  by  which  their  election 
could  be  legally    declared.     Double  or   triple— genuine 
and  spurious— returns  were  received  from  various  States, 
for  the  first  time  in  our  history.     The  President  of  the 
Senate,  Mr.  Ferry,  a  vain,  weak  man,  whose   accidental 
rise  to  an  important  position  had  inflated  his  conceit  be 
yond  even  its  usual  bounds,  declared  that  it  was  a  mat 
ter  to  be  decided  by  himself  which  paper  was  the  genu 
ine  return  from  any  State ;  and  this   preposterous   claim 
was  supported  by  many  of  his  colleagues.     The   former 
rules  governing  the  reception  or  exclusion  of  returns  were 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  321) 

now  repudiated  by  the  Senate.  On  the  8th  of  January 
were  excited  gatherings  in  many  parts  of  the  Union,  at 
which  the  forcible  maintenance  of  the  claims  of  Tilden 
and  Hendricks  was  urged  and  the  demand  of  the  peo 
ple  for  the  inauguration  of  the  men  of  their  choice  was 
uttered  in  thunder  tones.  The  days  following  were  omi 
nous  of  civil  war  ;  for  the  army  was  gathered  at  the  cap 
ital  to  support  the  claims  of  the  defeated  candidates.  The 
newspapers  advocated  many  wild  schemes.  It  was  pro 
posed  to  declare  Morton  Dictator ;  to  proclaim  Grant  for 
a  third  term  ;  to  inaugurate  Hayes  and  outlaw  the  Presi 
dent-elect.  But  better  counsels  prevailed ;  and  by  a 
magnanimous  compromise  the  Democrats  consented  to 
the  formation  of  a  Joint  High  Commission  to  investigate 
and  settle  the  questions  relating  to  the  contested  returns. 
In  this  they  showed  their  proud  consciousness  of  the 
righteousness — the  unquestionable  justice — of  their  claims. 
The  Republicans,  after  much  opposition  and  delay,  con 
sented  to  the  measure,  being  driven  thereto  by  expres 
sions  of  public  opinion  which  could  not  be  disregarded. 
The  Electoral  Commission  bill  passed  on  the  2pth  of  Jan 
uary,  1877.  Its  provisions  relating  to  diverse  returns 
were  as  follows : 

"  All  such  returns  and  papers  shall  be  opened  by  him 
[the  President  of  the  Senate]  in  the  presence  of  the  two 
Houses,  when  met  as  aforesaid,,  and  read  by  the  tellers  ; 
and  all  such  returns  and  papers  shall  thereupon  be  sub 
mitted  to  the  judgment  and  decision,  as  to  which  is  the 
true  and  lawful  electoral  vote  of  such  State,  of  a  Com 
mission  constituted  as  follows  :  namely, — 

"  During  the  session  of  each  House  on  the  Tuesday 
next  preceding  the  first  Thursday  in  February,  1877,  each 
House  shall,  by  viva  voce  vote,  appoint  five  of  its  mem 
bers,  who,  with  the  five  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  to  be  ascertained  as  hereinaf 
ter  provided,  shall  constitute  a  Commission  for  the  decis- 


330  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

ion  of  all  questions  ufon  or  in  respect  of  such  double  re 
turns  named  in  this  section.'''1 

Further  on,  four  of  the  Judges  are  designated,  though 
without  being  personally  named,  and  these  four  were  to 
choose  a  fifth,  to  complete  the  Commission. 

Accordingly  the  members  of  the  Commission  were  ap 
pointed  by  the  Senate  and  House.  Of  the  first  named 
Chamber,  the  members  chosen  were  as  follows  : 

Republicans,— George  F.  Edmunds,  Oliver  P.  Morton, 
Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen  ;    Democrats,— Thomas  F. 
Bayard,   Allen    G.  Thurman.     The  last  named   retired 
from  the  Commission  on  the  26th  of  February,  on  account 
of  illness,  and  was  succeeded  by  Francis  Kernan. 
Of  the  Representatives,  the  following  were  selected  : 
Democrats, — Henry  B.   Payne,  Eppa   Hunton,  Josiah 
G.  Abbott ;  Republicans, — James  A.  Garfield,  George  F. 
Hoar. 

It  was  altogether  strange  that  Mr.  Garfield  should  be 
appointed  to  a  place  on  the  Commission,  for  he  had  been 
one  of  the  most  active  attorneys  of  the  Returning  Board 
of  Louisiana,  upon  whose  electoral  returns  judgment  was 
to  be  passed  by  the  Commission. 

The  membership  from  the  Supreme  Court  was  consti 
tuted  as  follows  : 

Justices  Nathan  Clifford  and   Stephen  J.  Field,  of  the 

First  and  Ninth  Circuits, -respectively,  were  Democrats. 

Justices  William  Strong  and  Samuel  F.  Miller,  of  the 

Third   and  Eighth   Circuits,  respectively,  were  Republi 


cans. 


Justice  Joseph  P.  Bradley,  of  the  Fifth  Circuit,  a  Re 
publican,  was  chosen  by  his  Associates  to  complete  the 
number. 

Besides  the  ablest  lawyers  in  Congress,  eminent  legal 
talent  of  various  States  was  arrayed  in  the  contest  before 
the  Commission.  For  the  Democrats  appeared  O'Conor, 
of  New  York;  Black,  of  Pennsylvania;  Merrick,  of  the 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  331 

District  of  Columbia  ;  Greene,  of  New  Jersey  ;  Carpen 
ter,  of  Wisconsin ;  Hoadley,  of  Ohio,  and  Whitney,  of 
New  York  ;  for  the  Republicans,  Evarts  and  Stoughton, 
of  New  York,  and  Matthews  and  Shellabarger,  of  Ohio. 

Let  us  briefly  review  the  situation : 

Florida  was  carried  by  the  Democrats  ;  the  Returning 
Board,  however,  threw  out  enough  votes  to  turn  the 
scale,  and  the  Republican  Governor  gave  commissions 
to  Republicans  claiming  to  have  been  chosen  as  Electors. 
The  Returning  Board  made  no  pretense  of  proof  of  fraud 
or  intimidation;  and  even  if  they  had  done  so,  their  ac 
tion  was  utterly  unauthorized  by  law.  The  men  who 
were  really  chosen  by  the  people  of  Florida  as  Electors, 
well  knowing  that  the  action  of  the  Republicans  would 
not  be  sustained  in  law,  met  and  cast  their  votes  for  Til- 
den  and  Hendricks.  The  Governor's  attestation  was 
wanting  to  their  return  list,  but  the  certificate  of  the  At 
torney  General  of  the  State  was  placed  upon  it.  This 
return  contained  a  statement  of  the  popular  vote,  as  well 
as  the  vote  of  the  Electoral  College  of  Florida.  The  so- 
called  Republican  Electoral  College  likewise  met,  and 
•cast  its  vote  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler,  which  vote  was 
certified  by  the  retiring  Executive,  Governor  Stearns. 
The  action  of  this  "Returning  Board  "  was  brought  before 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  and  decided  to  be  ultra 
vires,  illegal  and  void.  To  remove  all  doubt  of  regular 
ity  in  the  matter,  if  possible,  the  Legislature  authorized 
a  recount  of  the  popular  vote,  by  a  law  approved  Janu 
ary  17,  1877.  By  the  recount,  the  Tilden  Electors  were 
shown  to  have  been  elected  by  an  unquestioned  majority  ; 
and  now  certificates  were  issued  to  them  by  the  newly 
inaugurated  Executive — Governor  Drew  (chosen  at  the 
same  election) — and  the  Electoral  College  met  again, 
voted  again,  and  sent  a  second  return  to  the  President  of 
the  Senate,  this  one  bearing  the  Governor's  attestation. 


332 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 


Thus  were  triple  returns  received  at  Washington,  from 
Florida. 

In  Louisiana  the  Democratic  Electors  had  an  average 
majority  of  7,639  votes,  but  the  Returning  Board  threw 
out  enough  votes  to  enable  them  to  declare  the  Republi 
can  electoral  candidates  chosen.  McEnery,  a  Democrat, 
was  chosen  Governor,  though  William  Pitt  Kellogg,  a 
Republican,  claimed  the  election  through  manipulations 
of  the  Returning  Board,  and  for  a  time  each  claimed  to 
act  as  Governor.  The  Electors  met  and  cast  their  votes 
for  Tilden,  and  sent  their  return,  with  the  attestation 
of  Governor  McEnery,  to  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  Republican  electoral  claimants  met  and  voted,  and 
sent  in  their  return  under  the  seal  of  Mr.  Kellogg, 
claiming  to  be  Governor,  in  charge  of  a  messenger 
(Anderson).  The  latter,  on  reaching  Washington,  found 
to  his  dismay  that  the  return  was  utterly  worthless,  since 
it  was  directly  at  variance  with  the  constitutional  require 
ment  in  form.*  In  breathless  haste  he  sped  back  to 
New  Orleans,  to  secure  another  session  of  the  so-called 
Republican  Electoral  College,  and  another  return  list. 
But  the  members  of  that  supposed  body  were  widely  scat 
tered,  some  of  them  hundreds  of  miles  away,  and  with 
no  railway  or  telegraphic  connection.  What  was  to  be 
done?  No  time  was  to  be  lost.  The  affair  was  kept  a 


*  The  nature  of  the  defect  was  this :  The  "  College  "  had  made  but  one 
list  of  the  ballots  for  President  and  Vice  President,  whereas  the  Constitu 
tion  requires  that  they  shall  make  "  distinct  lists  "--one  for  President  and 
one  for  Vice  President.  Anderson  reached  Washington  with  some  ladies, 
on  Christmas  eve,  and  gave  his  papers  to  Mr.  Ferry,  President  of  the  Sen 
ate.  That  worthy  discovered  that  they  were  not  properly  indorsed  on  the 
envelope.  Anderson  tore  open  the  envelope,  and  the  unconstitutional 
form  of  the  return  was  observed.  Without  a  night's  rest,  he  started  upon 
his  return  to  New  Orleans,  and  reached  that  city  on  the  morning  of  Thurs 
day,  the  28th  of  December.  He  at  once  informed  Mr.  Kellogg  that  Mr. 
Ferry  had  said  that  the  papers  were  not  in  form,  and  new  ones  must  be 
prepared.— See  Electoral  Count,  pp.  539-541 ;  674. 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

profound  secret.  Such  "  members  "  as  could  be  found 
were  summoned  to  a  secret  chamber  in  the  top  of  the  State 
House,  and  the  signatures  of  absentees  were  supplied  by 
forgeries.  And  these  lists  thus  prepared,  a  lying,  forged 
return,  were  sent  on  to  Washington. 

In  South  Carolina  there  was  no  constitutional  election. 
The  Constitution  of  that  State  required  a  registry  of  the 
votes,  and  the  irresponsible  Legislature  had  made  no 
provision  for  such  registry.  Moreover,  there  had  been 
violence  throughout  much  of  the  campaign,  and  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  President  had  been  invoked  to  restore 
order  by  means  of  troops.  Both  Democrats  and  Repub 
licans  claimed  to  have  won.  Two  "Electoral  Colleges" 
were  constituted.  Neither  of  the  returns  sent  to  Wash 
ington  was  considered  valid  by  the  Democrats.  The 
return  which  was  ultimately  received  was  deficient  in 
its  statement,  as  it  did  not  set  forth  even  that  the  vote  of 
the  supposed  Electors  was  by  ballot,  nor  show  that  these 
supposed  Electors  had  been  sworn,  as  required  by  law. 

These  States  for  a  time  received  the  undivided  atten 
tion  of  the  people.  A  loud  clamor  was  made  that  neither 
Congress  nor  any  court  could  "  go  behind  the  returns" — 
could  question  the  legitimacy  of  any  return  which  bore  a 
Governor's  attestation,  however  patent,  naked  and  bald 
the  fraud  or  violence  which  procured  that  attestation. 

A  case  which  presented  itself  in  Oregon  gave  the  Dem 
ocrats  an  opportunity  to  test  the  sincerity  of  this  claim. 
Oregon  had  gone  Republican  by  a  small  but  unquestioned 
majority.  One  of  the  electoral  candidates  chosen,  being 
a  Federal  officer,  was  deemed  ineligible,  by  a  strict  con 
struction  of  the  law,  and  the  Governor  commissioned  in 
his  place  his  opponent,  a  Democrat,  as  having  the  next 
highest  number  of  votes.  Thus  the  Electoral  College  of 
Oregon,  which  should  have  been  composed  of  three  Re 
publicans,  was  declared  by  the  Governor  to  consist  of 
two  Republicans  and  one  Democrat.  The  two  Republi- 


334 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 


cans  refused  to  act  with  the  Democrat  (Mr.  Cronin),  but 
acted  with  their  colleague  on  the  ticket  (Mr.  Watts), 'who 
resigned  his  office  after  the  election,  in  order,  if  possible, 
to  remove  his  disability.     The  Governor,  not  recognizing 
their  action,  withheld   his  attestation  from   their  return*; 
and  their  papers  were  sent  to  Washington   certified  only 
by  the  Secretary  of  State.     Mr.  Cronin,  as  required  by 
law  in  case  of  vacancies,  filled  the  college  by  appointing 
two  Republicans  to  act  with  him,  and  they  sent  to  Wash 
ington  their  return,  containing  two  votes  for  Hayes  and 
Wheeler    and  one   for  Tilden  and  Hendricks,  and  with 
the  Governor's  attestation.     That  one  vote  for  Tilden  and 
Hendricks,  if  counted,  would  have  seated  a  Democratic 
President   and  Vice  President.     Yet  not   a  man   of  the 
Electoral  Commission,  as  related  hereafter,  voted  to  re 
ceive  it.    No  reputable  Democrat,  to  our  knowledge,  ever 
wished   to   receive    it,  even  were   the    eligibility  of  Mr. 
Watts  unequivocally  and  emphatically  denied  by  all  the 
courts  in  Christendom.     For  the  sacredness  of  the  ballot, 
as  a  register  of  the  will  of  the   people,  must  be  upheld' 
even  to  a  waiver  of  weighty  technicalities.    Yet  that  Ore 
gon  transaction,  believed  by  the  Governor  and  Mr.  Cro 
nin  to  be   strictly   in    accordance    with  law    (though  in 
violation  of  the  will  of  the  people),  served  fully  its  purpose 
as  a  test  case,  and  involved  the  Republicans  in  an  incon 
sistency  from  which  no  sophistry  could  possibly  extricate 
them. 

To  summarize  the  plural  returns,  they  were  as  follows : 
From   Florida— (i)    The   first  return    of  the    Electors 
chosen  by  the  people,  signed  on  the  6th  of  December,  but 
unattested  by  the  Governor;  (2)  the  second  return  of  the 
same  Electors,  signed  on  a  later  day  (after  the  recount) 
"and  attested  by  the  new  Governor — Drew  ;  (3)  the  return 
of  the  pretended  Electors,  signed  on  the  6th  of  Decem 
ber,  and  attested  by  Governor  Stearns.     The  two  papers 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  335 

first  named  were  Democratic  returns  ;  the  last  was  Re 
publican. 

From  Louisiana — ( i )  The  return  of  the  legally  chosen 
Electors,  signed  on  the  6th  of  December,  and  attested  by 
Governor  McEnery ;  (2)  the  return  (wrong  in  form, 
worthless,  and  never  considered)  of  the  Republican  elec 
toral  claimants,  signed  on  the  6th  of  December,  and  at 
tested  by  Mr.  Kellogg,  claiming  to  be  Governor;  (3) 
the  second  return  of  the  Republican  electoral  claimants, 
containing  forgeries,  signed  on  the  2()th  of  December,  and 
certified  by  Mr.  Kellogg.  Of  these,  the  first  named  was 
Democratic  ;  the  last  two  were  Republican. 

From  Oregon — ( i )  The  return  of  Mr.  Cronin  and  two 
Republicans,  signed  on  the  6th  of  December,  and  certi 
fied  by  Governor  Grover  and  the  Secretary  of  State  ;  (2) 
the  return  of  Mr.  Watts  and  the  two  legally  chosen  Elec 
tors  who  refused  to  serve  with  Mr.  Cronin,  uncertified  by 
the  Governor,  but  with  the  certificate,  as  to  the  two  chosen, 
of  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  first  of  these  contained 
one  vote  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks. 

From  South  Carolina — ( i )  A  return  from  persons  claim 
ing  to  have  been  chosen  Electors,  signed  on  the  6th  of 
December,  but  not  attested  by  the  Governor;  (2)  a  re 
turn  from  persons  claiming  to  have  been  chosen  Elec 
tors,  signed  on  the  6th  of  December,  and  attested  by 
Governor  Chamberlain.  The  latter  was  Republican. 

The  Republicans  had  secured  a  majority  of  the  Com- 
mision,  yet  their  victory  in  this  respect  was  worthless 
without  the  most  glaring  self-stultification.  Let  us  ex 
amine  the  case.  Florida,  it  is  admitted,  had  chosen  Dem 
ocratic  Electors.  Let  it  be  held,  however,  that  their  first 
return  could  not  be  received,  on  the  ground  that  the  Gov 
ernor's  certificate  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  validity  of 
the  return.  This  would  throw  out  the  first  Democratic 
return  from  Florida,  but  would  also  throw  out  the  Re 
publican  (second)  return  from  Oregon,  without  which, 


336 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 


the  election  of  Hayes  and  Wheeler  would  fail.  On  the 
other  hand,  let  it  be  held  that  the  absence  of  the  Gover 
nor's  certificate  could  not  defeat  the  vote  of  the  chosen 
Electors.  In  this  case  the  three  votes  in  Oregon  must  be 
counted  for  the  Republican  candidates  ;  but  Florida  must 
inevitably  be  counted  for  Tilden  and  Hendricks,  for  there 
was  no  claim  advanced  against  such  count  except  the 
above  mentioned  want  of  legal  formality.  In  this  case, 
as  in  the  other,  the  election  of  Tilden  and  Hendricks 
would  stand.  But  even  if  the  Governor's  certificate  were 
absolutely  essential  to  the  legality  of  the  return,  the  sec 
ond  Democratic  return  from  Florida  was  attested  by  Gov 
ernor  Drew.  Let  it  be  held  that  this  return  was  invalid 
because  signed  at  a  later  day  than  the  6th  of  December. 
It  may  then  be  shown  that  the  only  considered  Republi 
can  return  from  Louisiana  was  signed  on  the  2pth  of  De 
cember  (though  fraudulently  dated  back  to  the  6th),  and 
without  it  the  election  of  the  Republican  candidates  must 
fail. 

There  were  various  other  matters  to  be  considered. 
Mr.  Humphreys,  one  of  the  electoral  claimants  of  Flor 
ida,  had  been  a  Federal  officer  at  the  time  of  the  elec 
tion,  it  was  claimed  ;  for  though  he  had  written  his  resig 
nation  before,  it  had  not  been  accepted.  Under  such  cir 
cumstances,  it  was  claimed,  he  had  been  ineligible.  Other 
electoral  claimants  were  declared  to  have  been  Federal 
officers  at  the  time  of  the  election— two  in  Louisiana  and 
the  one  mentioned  (Mr.  Watts)  in  Oregon.  Moreover, 
the  electoral  claimants  of  Louisiana  had  Violated  the  State 
law  by  holding  the  session  of  their  "  College  "  in  secret 
and  not  allowing  the  presence  of  a  Democrat  or  of  a  Fed 
eral  officer.  The  Commission  at  first  admitted  evidence 
to  prove  that  Mr.  Humphreys,  of  Florida,  had  written 
his  resignation  of  his  Federal  office  before  the  election, 
and  held  that  such  an  act  was  a  complete  resignation  in 
itself.  Mr.  Watts,  of  Oregon,  it  will  be  remembered, 


THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR.  337 

had  not  even  offered  his  resignation  before  the  election. 
All  further  evidence  was  ruled  out,  by  a  strict  party  vote. 
The  end  was  foreseen  from  the  beginning.  On  all  ma 
terial  issues  the  vote  of  8  to  7  was  steadily  given.  Jere 
Black  poured  upon  the  heads  of  the  impassible  eight  a 
torrent  of  blistering  invective,  to  no  purpose.  The  ma 
jority  voted  that  the  first  return  of  the  Florida  Electoral 
College  could  not  be  received,  since  it  was  unaccompan 
ied  with  an  Executive  certificate  ;  but  they  accepted  the 
second  Oregon  paper  without  such  certificate.  They 
ruled  out  the  second  return  of  the  Florida  Board,  because 
it  was  made  out  on  a  day  later  than  the  6th  of  December  ; 
but  they  accepted  the  forged  paper  from  Louisiana,  pre 
pared  on  the  29th  of  that  month.  They  held  that  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  Humphreys  was  valid,  because  offered 
l>y  him  ;  but  they  would  not  receive  evidence  that  Mr. 
Watts  was  still  a  Federal  officer  at  the  time  of  the 
election.  They  recognized  Mr.  Kellogg  as  the  true 
Governor  of  Louisiana ;  yet  in  the  sequel  he  aban 
doned  the  pretense  after  a  few  weeks  of  assumption. 
The  Commission  was  a  unit  in  rejecting  the  Cronin  re 
turn  from  Oregon,  and  the  return  of  the  Democratic  elec 
toral  claimants  of  South  Carolina — the  Democrats  de 
claring  in  the  latter  case  that  no  return  should  be  received 
from  that  State,  as  neither  the  election  nor  the  action  of 
either  of  the  "  Colleges  "  had  been  legal.  It  is  proper  to 
add  that  the  Democratic  members  of  the  Commission 
were  at  the  time  ignorant  of  the  Louisiana  forgeries  and 
of  the  fact  that  the  spurious  return  was  prepared  on  a  day 
later  than  the  6th.  Some  of  the  Republican  members, 
likewise,  were  unaware  of  the  precise  character  of  the 
document  upon  which  they  passed.  But  the  slightest  in 
vestigation  would  have  disclosed  it.  The  Republican 
leaders  knew  about  it,  and  gave  orders  that  the  Louisiana 
case  must  be  passed  without  investigation.  And  this  was 
22 


338  THE    CENTENNIAL    YEAR. 

done.  And  thus  was  consummated  the  act  which  over 
threw  the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  the  unpre 
cedented  victory  of  '76,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  choice 
of  men.  No  words  can  characterize  it.  Denunciation 
can  not  add  to  its  enormity.  The  facts  speak  for  them 
selves. 

But  the  hand  does  not  turn  back  on  the  dial  of  his 
tory.  President  Hayes  was  actuated  by  a  sincere  desire 
to  reform  abuses,  and  to  conduct  a  clean  and  honorable 
Administration,  in  which  desire  he  was  supported  by  the 
better  element  of  his  party,  who  were  drawn  irresistibly 
into  the  current  of  popular  thought  and  feeling.  The 
crimes  of  the  Returning  Boards  did  not  accomplish  their 
ultimate  purpose.  The  President  and  his  noble  wife  gave 
ear  and  sympathy  to  the  stricken  South.  The  troops 
were  remanded  to  military  pursuits,  and  the  irresponsi 
ble  governments  heard  their  death  knell  in  the  Executive 
order. 

Then  the  procession  began  to  move.  The  gilded 
throng  of  perjurers,  forgers  and  assassins  of  the  now 
disenthralled  South  took  up  the  line  of  march.  The  Sen 
ators  and  Representatives  at  Washington  who  had  risen 
through  crime,  finished  their  terms,  but  returned  na 
more  to  the  Southern  States.  Rigid  economy  character 
ized  the  rule  of  the  people.  Keys  turned  in  the  rusty 
locks  of  school  houses.  Carpenters  and  masons  erected 
new  buildings  for  the  education  of  the  white  and  the 
black.  Hopefully,  joyously,  the  South  turned  to  its  labors. 
Abundant  harvest  came.  Manufactures  sprang  up  as  by 
magical  touch.  Immigration  was  welcomed,  and  grew 
from  year  to  year.  The  earth  seemed  greener,  the 
skies  brighter.  Slavery,  war  and  political  serfdom  had 
passed  away,  and  the  new  South  entered  upon  its  hap 
pier  destiny. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PRIVATE    AND    PROFESSIONAL    LIFE. 

Wearied  by  the  long  and  trying  Presidential  campaign, 
which  lasted  virtually  until  the  inauguration  of  Mr. 
Hayes,  Mr.  Hendricks  sought  needed  rest  and  recreation 
in  a  trip  abroad.  This  was  in  June,  1877.  He  visited 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  France,  Germany  and  Austria, 
and  his  observations  upon  the  laws,  customs  and  institu 
tions  of  those  countries  are  interesting  and  instructive. 
As  is  the  case  with  most  lawyers,  he  especially  enjoyed 
his  stay  in  England,  the  birthplace  of  the  liberty  and  law 
under  which  we  live. 

He  landed  at  Queenstown  after  a  pleasant  voyage,  saw 
Dublin  and  the  Lakes  of  Killarney,  stopped  at  Belfast 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  crossed  to  Glasgow.  This 
city  and  the  beautiful  Edinburgh,  so  famous  in  history, 
were  thoroughly  enjoyed  by  the  traveler ;  but  he  was  on 
his  way  to  London,  and  like  all  intelligent  Americans 
he  was  impatient  to  see  this  monster  city  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon.  He  spent  three  weeks  in  London  on  his  first  visit. 
He  dined  with  General  Grant  at  the  residence  of  Minis 
ter  Pierrepont,  met  Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  then  Chan 
cellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Mr.  Bright  and  many  members 
of  Parliament,  attended  Parliament  and  listened  with 
great  interest  to  the  debates.  He  felt  the  progress  that 
Democratic  ideas  were  making  in  England,  and  how 
rapidly,  though  retaining  the  old  forms,  the  government 
was  becoming  in  fact  a  government  by  the  people.  We 
can  not  do  better  than  to  quote  from  a  speech  made  by 

(339) 


340  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LITE. 

Mr.  Hendricks  upon  his  return  to  Indianapolis.  The 
contrast  between  the  English  and  the  French  is  made 
with  striking  clearness,  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  En 
glish  mind  and  methods  are  most  satisfactorily  described. 

"While  you  see  no  revolution,"  he  says,  "  in  England 
since  1688,  still  you  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  there 
is  much  of  advancement  even  there.  *  *  So  I  might 
speak  of  other  great  reforms  in  this  half  century.  But  they 
don't  come  by  revolutions.  They  come  by  the  action, 
cool,  deliberate  and  determined,  of  the  English  mind. 
But  I  predict  that  some  of  you  young  men  will  live  to  see 
this  great  reform  accomplished  in  England.  In  France — 
you  recollect  how  it  was  there.  In  their  wild  fury  of  rev 
olution,  in  storms  of  blood,  the  feudal  system  and  the 
terrible  burdens  it  imposed  upon  the  shoulders  of  labor 
passed  away  in  a  night.  But  in  England  it  will  hardly 
be  so,  and  why?  Because  the  Englishman  is  entirely  de 
voted  to  the  institutions  of  his  country.  *  *  Now  in 
France  it  is  not  so.  They  don't  care  much  for  their  insti 
tutions  in  France,  but  they  do  love  France." 

Here  the  Governor  hit  upon  the  vital  difference  between 
Anglican  and  Gallican  liberty — the  one  is  institutional 
and  the  other  is  not. 

Paris,  he  thought,  was  a  charming  city,  but  he  pre 
ferred  smoky  and  grimy  old  London.  France  was  ablaze 
with  political  excitment,  for  the  people  were  to  decide 
whether  they  should  live  under  a  republic  or  a  monarchy. 
The  Governor  said  that  he  "  became  somewhat  of  a  politi 
cian  while  in  France."  He  talked  with  Gambetta,  with 
whom  he  was  very  favorably  impressed,  and  this  great 
Frenchman  assured  him  that  the  liberal  cause  would  tri 
umph.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Mr.  Hendricks's 
sympathies  were  with  the  liberal  cause. 

Germany  and  Austria  were  next  visited — the  principal 
halting  places  being  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Hamburg, 
Carlsbad  and  Munich. 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  341 

Everywhere  he  was  the  same  careful  observer.  Noth 
ing  seemed  to  escape  him.  He  found  some  traces  of  the 
federal  system  in  the  Austrian  Government,  and  he  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  "  with  all  the  forms  of  the  empire, 
the  Emperor  of  Austria  could  not  put  a  man  upon  trial 
for  such  things  as  are  charged  to-day,  in  the  establish 
ment  called  the  Republic  of  France,  against  Gambetta." 
He  was  not  deluded  by  forms.  The  letters  which  he 
wrote  home  were  full  of  interest. 

The  trip  lasted  about  four  months,  as  the  Governor 
landed  in  New  York  early  in  October,  where  he  was 
tendered  a  reception  by  admiring  friends.  But  the 
warmest  greeting,  of  course,  awaited  him  in  Indianapolis. 
He  was  met  by  a  large  crowd  of  his  fellow  townsmen. 
The  address  of  welcome  was  made  by  the  Hon.  George 
W.  Julian,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  replied  in  a  speech,  from 
which  extracts  have  already  been  given. 
^  ^fc)nce  again  back  at  his  old.  home,  he  devoted  himself 
assiduously  to  the  practice  of  the  law.  The  daily  record 
of  the  lawyer's  life  is  not  of  much  interest  to  the  general 
reader.  His  defeats  and  triumphs  alike  are  soon  forgotten., 
As  a  member  of  one  of  the  leading  firms  of  the  State,  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  a  very  busy  man.  He  shirked  no  duty, 
and  shrank  from  no  task  ho\vever  arduous.  There  were 
few  important  cases  in  the  Indiana  Courts  in  which  the 
firm  of  Baker,  Hord  &  Hendricks  was  not  engaged  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  \ 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  railroad  litigation  in  the  Fed 
eral  Courts  during  these  years,  involving  very  important 
and  complicated  interests,  which  demanded  the  closest 
attention  and  the  greatest  skill.  There  was  no  depart 
ment  of  the  law  in  which  Mr.  Hendricks  was  not  at  home 
thoroughly,  no  situation  of  which  he  was  not  the  master. 

His  professional  labors  were  frequently  interrupted  by 
calls  to  deliver  occasional  addresses,  his  happy  talent  in 
that  line  making  him  very  popular.  Among  his  efforts 


342  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

of  this  class  in  the  period  under  consideration,  those  most 
deserving  mention — and  space  will  allow  nothing  more — 
were  an  address  of  welcome  to  the  National  Convention 
of  Millers,  Indianapolis,  May  30,  1878 ;  an  address  to 
the  Law  School  of  the  Michigan  University,  Ann  Arbor, 
December  6,  1878 ;  a  speech  to  the  Hendricks  Club, 
Indianapolis,  October  29,  1879;  a  speech  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  May  22,  1880 ;  an  oration  on  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  Indiana  Capitol,  September  28,  1880 ; 
a  Fourth  of  July  oration  at  Greencastle,  Ind.,  1881  ;  a 
response  to  the  toast,  "  Our  Country,"  at  the  Jackson 
banquet  of  the  Iroquois  Club,  Chicago,  March  15,  1882  ; 
an  address  on  "The  Advocate,"  to  the  Central  Law 
School,  Indianapolis,  April  13,  1882  ;  a  speech  at  a  ban 
quet  tendered  the  Democratic  editors,  Indianapolis, 
June  30,  1882  ;  and  a  response  at  the  banquet  to  Lord 
Coleridge  to  the  toast,  "A  Common  System  of  Juris 
prudence  Must  Cement  National  Friendship."  Several 
of  these  are  reproduced  farther  on. 

Every  political  campaign,  of  course,  made  a  heavy 
draft  upon  his  time  and  strength,  which  he  promptly 
honored  ;  for  his  services  were  always  at  the  command 
of  his  party.  When  asked  once  if  he  were  out  of  politics, 
he  answered  that  he  expected  never  to  be  out  of  politics 
while  he  was  out  of  his  grave  ;  and  he  has  frequently 
said  that  the  Democratic  party  had  treated  him  with  such 
kindness,  and  bestowed  so  many  honors  upon  him,  that 
it  could  ask  no  sacrifices  which  he  would  not  make  in  its 
behalf.  Thus  he  often  presided  over  the  State  conven 
tions  of  the  party,  and  always  made  them  wise  and  in 
spiring  speeches,  notably  those  of  February  20,  1878,  and 
of  June  10,  1880 ;  in  which  he  gave  the  "  key-notes  "  of 
the  campaigns  approaching. 

Local  politics  also  received  his  attention.  Previous  to 
the"  election  of  township  trustees  in  1881,  he  made  an  im 
pressive  and  instructive  speech  to  the  township  Democ- 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  343 

racy  in  the  Park  Theater,  Indianapolis,  March  3Oth,  in 
which  he  considered  the  importance  of  local  affairs,  and 
the  duty  of  the  citizen  in  regard  to  them. 

He  was  in  great  demand  in  other  States,  also,  and  sel 
dom  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  appeal,  "  Come  over  and 
help  us."  His  speech  at  Allegheny  City,  October  28,  in 
the  Gubernatorial  canvass  of  1878,  has  often  been  men 
tioned  with  admiration.  Some  railway  detention  excited 
fears  that  he  might  not  arrive  in  time,  and  a  special  train 
was  sent  to  meet  him.  It  ran  fifty  miles  in  less  than  an 
hour,  and  when  he  reached  the  hall  he  was  borne  to  the 
stage  on  the  shoulders  of  the  people.  But  the  wildest 
possible  enthusiasm  was  manifested  when  he  uttered  this 
sentiment:  "Do  you  think  the  Democratic  party  can 
•die?  Other  parties  can  die,  other  parties  may  die,  other 
parties  do  die,  but  the  Democratic  party  can  never  die. 
Democracy,  democratic  principles,  are  always  enthroned 
in  the  hearts  of  a  free  and  liberty  loving  people."  He 
took  part  in  the  Iowa  canvass  in  1883,  and  delivered  a 
number  of  effective  speeches  in  that  State. 

As  the  year  1880  approached,  public  attention  was  fixed 
upon  Mr.  Hendricks.  The  demand  for  the  Old  Ticket 
was  very  strong,  and  it  would  unquestionably  have  been 
nominated  but  for  two  reasons.  Mr.  Hendricks  abso 
lutely  declined  to  accept  another  nomination  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency,  and  Mr.  Tilden  decided  not  to  let  his  name 
go  before  the  Convention.  The  letter  of  the  latter  to  th 
•delegates  at  Cincinnati,  declining,  on  the  score  of  ill 
health,  to  accept  the  nomination  if  tendered  to  him,  made 
it  evident  that  the  Old  Ticket  was  out  of  the  question. 

In  November  of  the  previous  year  General  Grant  had 
returned  from  his  foreign  travels,  after  having  circum 
navigated  the  globe.  He  had  been  received  everywhere 
with  the  most  distinguished  honors  ;  and  from  the  day  of 
his  landing  at  San  Francisco,  his  countrymen  had  vied 
with  each  other  to  welcome  the  great  commander  to  his 


344  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

native  land.  The  Army  of  the  Tennessee  had  appointed 
its  reunion  at  Chicago,  and  had  fixed  the  date  so  that 
the  General  could  be  present.  He  was  there,  and  the 
occasion  was  a  grand  one.  The  annual  oration  was  de 
livered  by  General  Walter  Q^  Gresham,  of  Indiana.  The 
same  enthusiasm  greeted  the  General  wherever  he  went ; 
the  people  without  distinction  of  party  were  glad  to  wel 
come  him  home. 

For  about  two  years  a  ''third  term"  movement  had 
been  managed  by  Republican  editors  and  politicians,  with 
a  phenominal  show  of  strength,  and  now  a  final  effort  was 
made  to  commit  the  Republican  party  to  the  candi 
dacy  of  General  Grant.  Senators  Conkling  and  Logan 
were  the  leaders  of  the  Grant  wing  of  the  party,  atter- 
wards  known  as  the  Stalwarts,  while  Mr.  Elaine  was  the 
chief  of  the  Half-Breeds.  The  fight  was  very  bitter  ;  and 
when  the  Convention  met  in  June,  in  Chicago,  it  was  found 
that  the  two  factions  were  of  about  equal  strength — at 
least  each  was  strong  enough  to  prevent  the  triumph  of 
the  other.  The  battle  was  a  long  and  hard  one,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  35th  ballot,  and  after  sitting  for  almost 
a  week,  that  the  Convention  nominated  General  James 
A.  Garfield  for  the  Presidency.  General  Arthur  was 
nominated  for  Vice  President,  as  a  sop  to  the  Stalwart 
Cerberus. 

Later  in  the  same  month  the  Democratic  Convention 
met  at  Cincinnati.  The  Indiana  delegation  had  been  in 
structed  by  the  State  Convention  with  unanimity  and  en 
thusiasm  to  support  Mr.  Hendricks  for  the  Presidency, 
and  under  the  lead  of  Hon.  Oscar  B.  Hord  and  Senator 
Joseph  E.  McDonald,  it  labored  zealously  in  his  interest. 
But  the  New  York  influence  would  not  permit  the  nomina 
tion  of  Mr.  Hendricks  over  Mr.  Tilden  ;  and  the  splendid 
soldier,  General  Winfield  Scott  Hancock,  was  selected  on 
the  second  ballot  as  the  standard  bearer  of  the  national 
Democracy.  But  an  Indiana  man  was  deemed  indispensa- 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  34"> 

bletothe  ticket,  and  the  Hon.  Wm.  H.  English  was  ac 
cordingly  named  unanimously  for  the  Vice  Presidency. 

It  was  thought  by  some  at  one  time  during  the  con 
vention  that  the  Eastern  men  would  support  Senator 
McDonald  for  the  nomination  if  Indiana  would  present 
his  name  ;  and  malicious  reports  were  afterward  circu 
lated  to  the  effect  that  the  Indiana  delegates,  or  some  of 
them,  telegraphed  Mr.  Hendricks  asking  if  he  would 
withdraw  in  favor  of  McDonald,  and  that  he  declined  tft 
do  so,  or  at  least  sent  no  answer  to  the  message.  These 
reports  were  entirely  false.  There  was  no  communica 
tion  between  Mr.  Hendricks  and  the  Indiana  delegates 
during  the  convention,  beyond  a  telegram  from  him  that 
he  left  altogether  to  the  delegation  the  relation  he  should' 
sustain  to  the  convention.  The  Indiana  delegates  were 
under  strict  instructions  from  the  Democracy  of  their 
State,  and  were  all  personally  devoted  to  Mr.  Hendricks. 
They  stood  by  him  loyally  at  this  time,  and  none  more 
loyally  than  Senator  McDonald  himself. 

So  the  candidates  were  named  ;  the  issue  was  joined 
again.  The  fight  was  warm  in  Indiana,  and  Governor 
Hendricks  was  as  usual  in  the  thickest  of  it.  The  candi 
dates  for  Governor  were  Franklin  Landers,  Democrat,, 
and  Albert  G.  Porter,  Republican — both  good  campaign 
ers — and  they  threw  themselves  into  the  canvass  with  all 
their  strength. 

There  was  at  one  time  something  of  an  alliance  be 
tween  the  Democrats  and  Nationals,  but  it  was  now  to 
end.  Captain  W.  R.  Myers,  of  the  Ninth  District,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  De  La  Matyr,  in  the  Seventh,  had  been  elected 
to  Congress  by  the  united  support  of  Democrats  and 
Nationals,  and  at  no  sacrifice  of  principle  on  the  part  of 
either,  for  in  some  of  their  strongest  demands  relating  to 
financial  measures  the  "hard  money  men  "  and  the  "soft 
money  men"  were  in  accord,  and  united  against  the 
Republican  policy.  The  Democrats  and  Nation-a-ls  now 


^346  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

united  again  in  support  of  Captain  Myers,  and  of  Mayor 
John  N.  Skinner,  of  Valparaiso,  in  the  Tenth  District. 
But  when  the  Nationals  renominated  Dr.  De  La  Matyr 
the  Democrats  failed  to  endorse  the  nomination,  and  their 
failure  to  do  so  enraged  the  Nationals  of  the  entire  State, 
and  broke  up  the  alliance. 

The  Republican  candidate  for  Governor,  Hon.  Albert 
G.  Porter,  was  a  tower  of  strength  to  his  party.  A  gen 
tleman  of  high  culture,  unblemished  character,  and  rec 
ognized  statesmanship,  he  developed  remarkable  force 
as  a  campaigner.  He  had  been  connected  with  state 
affairs  almost  from  boyhood.  He  was  remembered  by 
old  Democrats  as  the  secretary  and  favorite  of  their  great 
Governor,  James  Whitcomb,  and  it  was  an  open  secret 
that  he  was  the  writer  of  the  Jacksonian  veto  message  of 
Governor  Wright,  relative  to  a  State  bank.  As  a  Demo- 
•crat  he  had  been  elected  by  the  Legislature  Reporter  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  Later,  as  a  Republican,  he  had 
won  distinction  in  Congress.  He  resigned  the  office  of 
Comptroller  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  to  enter 
upon  the  canvass.  As  a  forcible  and  attractive  speaker 
he  had  few  equals  in  the  West.  After  his  accession  to 
the  Governor's  chair  his  name  was  frequently  mentioned 
with  favor  for  even  higher  honors. 

Governor  Hendricks,  of  course,  gave  the  key-note, 
and  it  was  he  also  who  closed  the  campaign  for  the 
Democrats  in  a  speech  of  rare  power. 

But  it  was  all  to  no  purpose.  Late  in  the  campaign 
the  Republicans  thrust  the  tariff  question  upon  the  peo 
ple,  and  the  Democrats  unfortunately  failed  to  meet  it 
.squarely  ;  and  this  undoubtedly  contributed  to  the  disaster. 
But  the  cause  of  the  overthrow  was  Senator  Dorsey.  This 
gentleman  came  into  the  State,  bringing  with  him  $400,- 
ooo,  took  the  whole  management  of  affairs  into  his  own 
hands,  and  literally  bought  a  victory.  The  Republican 
managers  have  confessed  as  much ;  for  shortly  after 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  347 

the  election,  a  dinner  was  given  to  Dorsey  by  New 
York  Republicans,  at  which  speeches  were  made,  refer 
ring  to  the  Star  Route  Senator  as  the  "  man  who  had 
carried  Indiana."  And  the  "  man  who  had  carried  In 
diana"  declared  openly  that  he  had  done  it  by  the  lib 
eral  use  of  "  soap."  There  was  no  difficulty  in  procuring 
"  soap,"  for  political  assessments  were  openly  made  upon 
Federal  employes.  Even  Garfield,  who  was  naturally 
above  this  business,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  notorious  Jay 
Hubbell,  asking  how  the  Departments  were  doing.  W. 
W.  Dudley,  the  United  States  Marshal,  was  an  able 
assistant  to  Dorsey,  for  through  his  important  position  he 
could  be  of  great  service  in  appointing  Deputy  Marshals 
on  election  day.  The  State  was  carried  by  the  Repub 
licans  in  October,  by  a  plurality  of  7,928,  no  party  having 
a  majority. 

Still  the  fight  went  on.  There  was  no  surrender,  no 
weakening  even,  on  the  part  of  the  Democracy ;  and  the 
last  speech  of  the  canvass,  made  by  Mr.  Hendricks  in 
the  Indianapolis  Wigwam,  to  five  thousand  people,  seemed 
to  breathe  victory  in  every  word.  But  the  Republicans 
were  successful,  though  they  secured  only  a  trifling  plu 
rality  of  the  popular  vote. 

Though  not  personally  concerned,  Mr.  Hendricks  felt 
keen  disappointment  at  the  Democratic  defeat ;  but  he 
quietly  resumed  the  usual  tenor  of  his  professional  life. 
During  the  summer  months  he  prepared  an  able  and 
thoughtful  article  for  the  North  American  Review  (Octo 
ber,  1881)  entitled,  "  Shall  Two  States  Rule  the  Union?  " 
in  which  he  discussed  the  protection  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment  with  reference  to  the  iron  of  Pennsylvania  and 
the  manufactures  of  Massachusetts.  This  article  is  re 
produced  elsewhere. 

The  sad  death  of  President  Garheld  (September  14, 
1881),  the  result  of  the  assassin's  bullet  received  in  July, 
made  General  Arthur  President,  and  perhaps  accom- 


348  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

plished  the  purpose  of  the  execrable  Guiteau  in  prevent 
ing  the  split  in  the  Republican  party,  which  seemed  im 
minent.  This  distressing  event  had  a  tendency  to 
weaken  the  force  of  party  and  sectional  divisions,  by 
uniting  the  hearts  of  the  whole  people  in  a  common 
grief,  and  may  thus  have  made  easier  to  the  country  the 
change  to  a  Democratic  administration,  which  was  to 
come. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  profoundly  shocked  at  the  dread 
ful  tragedy,  and  spoke  with  feeling  and  regret  of  "  poor 
Garfield,"  on  his  bed  of  suffering.  Remembering  his 
own  sharp  assaults  on  General  Garfield  when  the  latter 
was  a  Presidential  candidate,  he  had  nothing  to  retract, 
for  he  had  then  spoken  upon  careful  consideration  and 
within  the  bounds  of  legitimate  party  warfare  ;  but  he 
could  not  but  regret  that  circumstances  had  ever  made  it 
his  duty  to  attack  even  in  fair  battle  one  on  whom  the 
hand  of  Providence  was  so  heavily  laid. 

The  Indiana  campaign  of  1882  enlisted  his  interest  and 
active  services.  In  the  Convention  of  August  2d  he  was 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  his 
opinions  and  style  are  recognizable  in  the  platform  then 
adopted.  He  made  many  speeches  in  different  parts  of 
the  State,  and  under  his  inspiring  leadership  the  Repub 
lican  majority  of  two  years  before  was  reversed  and 
the  entire  Democratic  State  Ticket  was  elected  by  an 
average  plurality  of  about  7,000. 

January  4,  1883,  ne  wrote  a  letter  to  the'  Democratic 
Editorial  Association,  in  which  he  paid  a  high  tribute  to 
the  press  as  an  agency  in  the  recent  victory,  which  he 
characterized  as  not  a  purely  partisan  victory,  but  as  the 
result  of  a  united  effort  of  citizens  "  for  important  re 
forms,  for  reduction  of  revenue,  for  tariff  adjustment,  for 
reduced  expenditures,  and  for  integrity  in  the  Depart 
ments,"  and  continued  with  a  frank  and  forcible  discus 
sion  of  the  proposed  laws  of  Congress  to  regulate  the 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  349 

civil  service,  and  a  condemnation  of  the  prescriptive  pol 
icy  of  the  party  in  power. 

In  December  1883,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks,  accom 
panied  by  Judge  Frederick  Rand  and  Mr.  William  Mor 
gan,  sailed  for  Europe,  this  time  seeking  health  and  rest. 
Mr.  Hendricks  was  far  from  well.  A  slight  paralytic 
stroke  had  affected  his  right  arm,  and  he  had  also  been 
alarmed  by  a  singular  malady  of  the  foot.  Overwork, 
physical  and  mental,  was  beginning  to  tell  upon  his  con 
stitution.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  he  felt  the 
need  of  rest  and  recreation. 

He  visited  England  and  France  once  more,  and  this 
time  he  went  also  to  Italy  and  Spain.  His  tour  is  related 
somewhat  at  length  in  one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend  at 
home,  which  was  published  in  the  Indianapolis  Journal, 
and  is  reproduced  elsewhere.  An  unimportant  incident 
of  his  visit  furnished  amusement  to  the  Parisians.  Stroll 
ing  one  day  along  the  streets  of  the  French  capital,  he 
entered  a  shooting  gallery.  Being  handed  a  rifle,  he 
took  steady  aim  and  fired  at  a  distant  mark,  piercing  the 
center  exactly.  This  excellent  marksmanship  led  to  in 
quiries  as  to  his  name,  which  caused  the  incident  to  be 
made  public.  The  French  politicians  shrugged  their 
shoulders  at  the  idea  of  meeting  such  a  man  in  a  duel, 
for  politics  and  duels  were  still  inseparable  in  the  French 
republic. 

Rome  and  Naples  especially  interested  him.  But  he 
said:  "It  is  a  delightful  thing  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  visiting  old  scenes  and  old  nations,  but  when  you  have 
seen  it  all  and  come  back  here  into  the  United  States, 
you  are  glad  in  your  profoundest  heart  that  you  are  an 
American  citizen." 

Thus  he  spoke  to  his  friends  and  neighbors  at  the  re 
ception  which  they  tendered  him  upon  his  return  in  April, 
ex-Senator  Joseph  E.  McDonald  and  Colonel  J.  B. 
Maynard  making  addresses  of  welcome. 


350  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

For  the  next  year  Mr.  Hendricks's  life  was  uneventful, 
but  as  a  private  citizen  he  was  not  less  pleasing  than  as  a 
statesman.  He  was  a  well  preserved  man,  about  five  feet 
nine  inches  in  height,  well  proportioned  and  of  com 
manding  presence  ;  his  hair  was  but  slightly  sprinkled 
-.vith  silver,  and  his  gray  eyes  had  lost  none  of  their  youth 
ful  lustre  ;  his  face  was  expressive  of  determination  and 
strength  of  character,  while  at  the  same  time  it  showed 
the  gentleness  of  his  disposition. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  fortunate  in  having  a  wife  whose 
interests  were  as  broad  and  whose  ambition  for  him  was 
as  great  as  his  own.  At  home  and  abroad  she  was  his 
constant  companion.  Every  detail  of  his  life  was  worthy 
of  her  attention,  for  she  knew  that  home  comforts  and 
freedom  from  petty  annoyances  were  essential  to  his  suc 
cess  in  public  life.  Mrs.  Hendricks  came  of  a  family 
averse  to  politics;  but  like  a  true  wife  and  woman,  she 
was  desirous  to  have  her  husband  attain  all  his  political 
ambition,  though  she  never  hesitated  to  say  that  she 
married  him  "as  a  lawyer,"  and  she  felt  the  greatest 
pride  in  his  achievements  at  the  bar. 

Their  home  in  Indianapolis  from  this  time  on  was  a  mod 
est  two-story  brick  building,  No.  81  North  Tennessee 
street,  opposite  the  State  Capitol.  It  stands  some  dis 
tance  back  from  the  street.  A  broad  lawn  stretches 
in  the  front  and  at  the  side  of  it,  with  an  ailantus  tree 
and  several  young  maples  scattered  about  the  grounds. 
Hollyhocks  and  old-fashioned  roses  adorn  the  borders, 
and  give  the  place  a  cheerful  home  like  appearance. 
It  is,  in  fact,  the  modest  home  of  an  American  gentle 
man,  with  its  broad  and  hospitable  hall,  its  inviting  par 
lors  and  its  well  filled  book  cases.  Mr.  Hendricks's  own 
library  and  work  room  was  a  chamber  on  the  second  floor, 
and  here,  within  easy  reach,  were  his  law  books,  political 
manuals,  reports  and  documents.  In  almost  every  room 
in  the  house  is  a  portrait  of  little  Morgan,  the  son 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  351 

who  was  born  while  they  lived  at  Shelby ville,  and  who 
died  there  at  the  age  of  three.  The  memory  of  their 
only  child  strengthened  the  bond  of  their  union  and 
deepened  the  sacred  home  sentiment  through  all  the  years 
since  he  was  taken  from  them. 

Their  home  was  a  happy  one,  because  the  husband  and 
wife  labored  side  by  side  for  progress  ;  and  in  the  atmos 
phere  of  culture  and  refinement  there  was  always  to  be 
found  rest  and  refreshment  from  the  cares  of  office.  It 
was  a  home  where  all  the  friends  of  Mr.  Hendricks  were 
made  welcome  by  the  wife,  who  was  loyal  to  his  every 
interest.  Some,  perhaps,  might  have  seen  in  that  home 
merely  the  successful  man  of  the  world,  surrounded  by  the 
ordinary  comforts  of  life  ;  but  the  more  thoughtful  observer 
could  scarcely  fail  to  see  there  the  beginning  and  the  end 
of  the  stateman's  ambition.  Mrs.  Hendricks  was  a  proud 
and  happy  wife,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  was  so  unfashionable 
as  to  be  in  love  with  his  wife  to  the  end. 

Mrs.  Hendricks  is  a  woman  of  excellent  executive 
ability.  Not  only  did  she  relieve  her  husband  of  much 
of  the  care  of  the  investment  and  management  of  their 
private  means,  but  she  for  many  years  served  the  State 
with  great  credit  as  a  trustee  of  the  Reformatory  for 
Women  and  Girls.  When  that  institution  was  established 
Mrs.  Hendricks  was  appointed  by  Governor  Williams  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  has  served  in  that 
capacity  ever  since.  She  has  been  punctual  in  her  duties, 
often  hastening  her  return  from  the  East  or  the  West,  or 
making  special  journeys  in  order  to  attend  the  Board 
meetings.  The  institution  is  entirely  under  the  manage 
ment  of  women.  A  legislative  investigation  while  Mrs. 
Hendricks  was  President  of  the  Board  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  management  was  much  more  economical  and 
effective  than  that  of  the  other  penal  institutions  of  the 
State,  which  were  controlled  by  men.  Mrs.  Hendricks 


352  PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE. 

has  always  been  active  and  liberal  in  all  kinds  of  char 
itable  work.  The  respect  in  which  her  business  ability  is 
held  is  witnessed  by  the  fact  that  after  her  husband's 
death  she  was  elected  to  succeed  him  as  a  director  of  a 
large  mining  company,  in  which  she  holds  stock. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Hendricks  was  brought 
up  in  the  fold  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  his 
father  was  an  elder  of  "  the  strictest  sect."     He  did  not, 
however,  connect  himself  formally  with  that  body,  though 
always  a  generous  supporter  of  its  worship  and  of  all 
missionary  and  other  religious  enterprises.     He  was  also 
a  liberal  contributor  whenever  called  upon  to  help  for 
ward  other  churches,  and  to  aid  the  cause  of  charity  and 
benevolence  in  any  form.    But  about  1864  he  was  led  to 
unite  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  and  his  wife 
were  confirmed    as  communicants    of  that   body.      For 
many  years  he  was  a  warden  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  In 
dianapolis,  and  represented  that  parish  as  a  lay  delegate 
in  the  General  Convocation  of  the  Church,  at  Philadelphia 
in  1883.     His  faith  in  the  truths  of  Christianity  was  sim 
ple,  earnest  and  sincere. 

A  remark  that  Mr.  Hendricks  made  in  1880  illustrates 
his  conscientiousness  and  sincerity.  He  was  walking 
toward  the  Wigwam  one  evening  with  his  friend  Mr. 
William  Wesley  Woollen,  to  hear  Hon.  George  W.  Julian 
speak.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Julian  had  been 
an  Abolitionist  before  and  during  the  war,  noted  on  the 
stump  and  in  Congress  for  the  force  of  his  argumentation 
and  the  bitterness  of  his  invective.  He  came  over  to  the 
Democrats  with  the  Greeley  movement,  and  had  been  an 
able  assailant  of  the  Republican  administration.  Mr. 
Hendricks  fell  to  commenting  on  Mr.  Julian  as  a  speaker, 
and  feared  that  his  sharpness  and  vigor  would  not  prove 
so  effective  as  a  more  winning  and  persuasive  style. 
•'  But,"  he  said,  "  what  a  fine  courage  Julian  has  shown 


PRIVATE  AND  PROFESSIONAL  LIFE.  353 

throughout ;  and,  Woollen,  he  was  right  in  his  abolition 
views,  and  we  were  wrong."  Then  after  a  moment's 
thought,  he  continued:  "  But  if  I  had  my  life  to  go, 
over  I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  I  did.  At  each  step 
I  did  what  I  thought  right,  by  the  light  I  then  had." 

A  little  incident  related  by  an  accomplished  and  well 
known  newspaper  correspondent,  shows  well  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  magnanimity,  and  the  effect  of  that  quality  of 
his  character  upon  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 
Said  Mr.  George  Alfred  Townsend  (Gath)  : 

"  Mr.  Hendricks,  after  he  lost  the  Vice  Presidency, 
said  about  Mr.  Hayes  :  '  I  have  always  stood  up  for 
Hayes.  We  have  no  business  to  abuse  him  for  abiding 
the  issue  of  a  trial  we  proposed.'  Mr.  Hendricks  said 
this,  or  nearly  this,  to  me,  and  at  that  moment  I  felt  a 
certain  exultation  to  be  in  his  society  which  I  had  never 
before  appreciated,  so  much  does  a  manly  concession 
establish  one's  true  dignity." 


23 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    LAST   BATTLE. 

The  year  1884  opened  with  bright  prospects  for  the  Na 
tional  Democracy.  The  Republican  party  had  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  devoted  itself  to  the  manufacture 
of  prosperity.  It  had  fostered  this  industry,  stimulated 
that  and  protected  the  other ;  it  had  voted  subsidies  by 
the  millions  ;  it  had  built  up  a  tariff  system  under  which 
the  wage  worker  was  to  get  high  wages,  the  manufac 
turer  large  profits,  and  the  general  consumer  cheap  com 
modities  ;  it  had  developed  the  home  market — for  in  the 
words  of  a  leading  Republican  Senator,  "  What  have  we 
co  do  with  Abroad?  "  Tax  had  been  piled  upon  tax,  un 
til  it  became  the  boast  of  the  Republican  statesmen  that 
the  revenue  collected  from  the  people  was  millions  in  ex 
cess  of  the  needs  of  the  Government.  No  effort  had  been 
spared  to  make  us  rich  and  happy ;  and  yet  the  country 
went  through  two  financial  panics  in  ten  years.  The 
statesmen  had  failed,  as  they  sometimes  do. 

The  people  therefore  were  inclined  to  hold  the  Repub 
lican  party  responsible  for  its  failure  to  make  good  its- 
promises,  and  to  charge — and  rightly — to  its  unwise  fiscal 
system  a  large  portion  of  the  industrial  distress  from 
which  they  had  suffered.  The  party  in  power  always  re 
ceives  credit  for  good  times,  and  blame  for  bad  times — 
usually  without  deserving  either.  But  when  it  goes  into 
the  business  of  making  prosperity,  it  is  liable,  in  case  of 
failure,  to  the  fate  of  the  African  rain-makers. 

The  failure  of  the  Republican  party  was  complete.     It 

(354) 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  355 

had  developed  two  things — a  wild  spirit  of  speculation, 
and  a  brood  of  industries,  so-called,  dependent  for  their 
existence  upon  political  action. 

The  year  1883  was  a  bad  one  for  the  business  world. 
The  crops  were  good,  but  we  had  no  place  to  sell  them. 
Our  home  market,  for  which  we  had  sacrificed  a  world 
market,  could  not  consume  our  agricultural  products  by 
millions  of  bushels.  Indiana  farmers  were  using  their 
corn  for  fuel  and  their  wheat  for  hog  feed.  The  wise 
men  told  us  that  we  had  overproduced,  which  of  course 
meant  that  we  must  stop  producing  for  a  while,  and  that 
is  what  we  did.  Factories  were  closed,  furnaces  banked 
up,  mines  shut.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  men  were 
thrown  out  of  employment ;  men,  women  and  children 
were  starving ;  there  were  strikes  and  lockouts  and  fail 
ures  on  every  hand,  and  there  was  pretty  steady  work 
for  the  militia  in  shooting  down  protected  workingmen. 
Things  were  at  a  standstill.  We  were  too  wealthy,  so 
we  had  to  stop  accumulating.  The  country  was  devoting 
itself  with  all  its  energy  to  the  task  of  catching  up  with 
its  supplies.  Naturally  the  people  felt  that  they  had  had 
quite  enough  of  Republican  prosperty. 

There  was  another  thing  which  pointed  to  Democratic 
success,  and  that  was  the  certainty,  almost,  of  Mr.  Elaine's 
nomination  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  President. 
It  became  clear  early  in(i88^that  Mr.  Elaine  would  be 
the  strongest  man  before  the  convention,  notwithstanding 
the  vigorous  protests  of  a  very  large  portion  of  his  own 
party. 

The  Convention  met  in  Chicago  on  the  3d  day  of  June. 
It  was  not  in  any  sense  a  great  Convention.  None  of 
the  old  leaders  were  delegates,  and  the  men  who  occu 
pied  their  places  were  hardly  worthy  to  wear  their  shoes. 
Garfield  was  dead — a  sacrifice  to  the  spoils  system ; 
Conkling  was  sulking  ;  Ingersoll  had  lost  interest  in  ac- 


356  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

tive  politics  ;  while  Elaine,  Logan,  Sherman  and  Ed 
munds  were  all  candidates.  The  reform  element  was 
led  by  George  William  Curtis,  Andrew  D.  White  and 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  of  New  York,  and  John  D.  Long 
and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts  ;  it  was  these 
gentlemen  who  headed  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Elaine. 
Their  candidate  was  Senator  Edmunds,  of  Vermont. 

The  preliminary  battle  was  won  by  the  anti-Elaine 
men,  when  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi  was  chosen 
temporary  chairman  over  Powell  Clayton,  of  Arkansas  ; 
but  this  was  the  only  occasion  upon  which  the  friends  of 
the  various  candidates  acted  together  against  Elaine. 

The  Convention  lasted  three  days ;  and  despite  the 
most  bitter  opposition,  over  every  protest,  and  in  con 
tempt  of  every  warning — Illinois  having  thrown  her  forty 
votes  from  Logan  to  Elaine — the  latter  gentleman  was 
nominated  on  the  fourth  ballot,  receiving  544  votes  out  of  a 
total  vote  of  816.  Mr.  Arthur  was  his  most  formidable 
competitor.  General  Logan  was,  of  course,  given  the 
second  place  on  the  ticket,  and  the  Republican  party  was 
fairly  on  the  way  to  defeat. 

At  once  came  the  revolt.  From  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other,  Republicans  vowed  that  they  would  not  sup 
port  the  ticket.  The  Mugwump  was  born.  The  fight 
was  a  personal  one  against  Mr.  Elaine,  the  charges  of 
his  opponents  relating  to  an  old  legislative  scandal — 
which  charges,  being  unwisely  ignored  by  his  friends, 
obtained  wide  credence  and,  whether  true  or  false,  se 
cured  his  ultimate  defeat.  Whether  the  Independent 
Republicans  should  nominate  a  candidate  of  their  own,  or 
vote  the  Democratic  ticket,  was  a  question  which  the 
Democratic  Convention  alone  could  settle. 

When  the  Convention  met  in  Chicago  on  the  8th  day 
of  July,  it  was  recognized  that  the  man  of  all  others  whom 
the  Independents  would  most  enthusiastically  support — 
perhaps  the  only  one  whom  they  would  support  at  all — 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  357 

was  Grover  Cleveland,  the  Reform  Governor  of  New 
York. 

Mr.  Hendricks  was  not  a  candidate  before  the  Conven 
tion.  His  life-long  friend,  ex-Senator  Joseph  E.  Mc 
Donald,  had,  while  laboring  hard  for  Mr.  Hendricks's 
nomination  in  1880,  himself  been  favorably  mentioned 
for  the  Presidency,  and  some  persons  had  said  that  he 
might  have  been  nominated  by  the  Cincinnati  Convention, 
had  he  permitted  his  name  to  be  used.  Since  that  event 
he  had  entertained  Presidential  aspirations,  and  Mr. 
Hendricks  had  magnanimously  stood  aside  for  him  and 
encouraged  the  Indiana  Democracy  to  support  him. 
Mr.  Hendricks  had  been  sent  at  the  head  of  the  Indiana 
delegation,  charged  with  the  important  duty  of  present 
ing  Mr.  McDonald's  name  to  the  Convention  as  Indiana's 
candidate  for  the  Presidency.  The  delegation  was  in 
structed  to  cast  its  vote  as  a  unit  for  Mr.  McDonald. 

The  Convention  was  large  and  enthusiastic.  It  seemed 
to  feel  that  it  was  to  name  the  winning  ticket.  Governor 
Hubbard,  of  Texas,  was  chosen  temporary,  and  Colonel 
Vilas,  of  Wisconsin,  Permanent  President.  The  platform 
declared  in  favor  of  Civil  Service  Reform,  economy  in 
the  administration  of  the  Government,  and  tariff  for  rev 
enue  exclusively. 

Mr.  Hendricks  did  his  work  well,  but  it  soon  became 
evident  that  Mr.  Cleveland,  with  his  seventy  votes  from 
New  York  (which  Mr.  Manning  cast  solid  for  his  friend), 
could  not  be  beaten.  Unlike  the  situation  in  the  Repub 
lican  Convention,  it  was  not  necessary  for  any  one  man 
to  be  defeated  to  prevent  a  split  in  the  party.  It  was 
thought,  however,  by  many  that  there  was  but  one 
man  with  whom  success  would  be  certain,  and  that  was 
Mr.  Cleveland.  It  was  doubtless  for  this  reason,  as  well 
as  for  his  excellent  record,  that  he  was  able  to  bear  off  the 
prize  over  such  competitors  as  Hoadley,  Bayard,  McDon 
ald,  Carlisle,  Thurman,  Morrison  and  Randall.  Kelly 


358  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

and  Grady  and  Butler  fought  him  bitterly,  but  to  no  pur 
pose.  As  Mr.  Bragg  said,  the  people  loved  him  "  for  the 
enemies  he  has  made."  Even  the  diversion  in  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  favor — with  which  he  had  nothing  to  do,  for  he 
was  unwaveringly  true  to  his  trust — which  seemed  at  one 
time  likely  to  become  a  stampede,  was  without  result,  and 
Mr.  Cleveland  was  finally  nominated  amid  great  enthu 
siasm  on  the  second  ballot  (July  9th),  receiving  683  votes 
out  of  820. 

When  Illinois  was  called,  on  the  second  ballot,  the 
chairman  of  the  delegation  answered,  "One  vote  for 
Hendricks."  This  kindled  the  enthusiasm  which  his 
name  and  presence  had  never  failed  to  excite  throughout 
the  sessions  into  a  fierce  and  sudden  flame,  and  for  half 
an  hour  the  cheering  and  demonstrations  of  affection  and 
delight  exceeded  all  possibility  of  description. 

Next  day  the  question  of  the  Vice  Presidency  was  in 
order,  and  on  the  roll-call  of  States  ex-Senator  W.  A. 
Wallace,  of  Pennsylvania,  arose,  and  said: 

"  I  rise  again  in  my  place  on  the  floor  of  this  Conven 
tion,  not  to  place  in  nomination  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth, 
but,  sir,  to  place  in  nomination  for  the  second  gift  of  the 
American  people  a  man  springing  from  old  Pennsylva 
nia's  stock,  from  the  western  portion  of  the  Common 
wealth.  In  the  star  of  the  West  he  found  the  lineage 
that  gives  him  to  the  West.  This  gentleman  is  conver 
sant  with  public  affairs  ;  throughout  his  entire  life  he  has 
known  government  and  its  details.  Not  onlv  a  states 
man,  but  a  pure  and  upright  citizen,  the  representa 
tive  of  the  grossest  wrong  that  was  ever  perpetrated 
upon  the  American  people — I  nominate  to  this  Conven 
tion  as  its  candidate  for  the  Vice  Presidency  of  the  United 
States,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks." 

The  mention  of  the  name  Hendricks  was  the  signal  for 
a  repetition  of  the  tumultous  scenes  of  the  day  before,  and 
the  nomination  proposed  was  ratified  amid  the  wildest 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  359 

and  most  prolonged  demonstrations.  On  a  call  of  the 
roll,  every  vote  in  the  Convention  was  given  for  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks.  It  was  New  York  and  Indiana,  as  in 
1876 ;  and  Mr.  Cleveland  was  generally  looked  upon  as 
the  political  heir  of  Tilden,  who  had  refused  to  be  a  can 
didate.  And  the  two  great  parties  faced  each  other  once 
again. 

Returning  to  Indianapolis  from  the  Convention,  the 
Vice  Presidential  nominee  was  greeted  by  ten  thousand 
citizens  who  gathered  at  the  Circle  to  welcome  him  with 
a  most  enthusiastic  reception. 

For  several  weeks  subsequent  to  the  Chicago  Conven 
tion  Mr.  Hendricks  remained  at  his  home  in  Indianapo 
lis,  where  he  received  the  visits  and  congratulations  of 
many  political  and  personal  friends  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  disposed  ot  a  vast  amount  of  correspond 
ence.  Toward  the  close  of  July,  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Hendricks,  he  went  to  Saratoga,  as  had  been  his  wont  in 
the  summer,  and  during  his  stay  there  was  visited  by  the 
Committee  of  the  National  Convention  appointed  to  of 
ficially  inform  him  of  his  nomination.  On  Wednesday, 
July  3Oth,  the  day  after  the  Committee  had  waited  upon 
Governor  Cleveland  for  a  similar  purpose,  its  members 
assembled  in  the  ladies'  parlor  of  the  Grand  Union  Hotel, 
Saratoga,  to  present  their  address  to  Mr.  Hendricks. 
The  room  was  crowded  with  a  brilliant  company  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  who  greeted  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  with  applause.  The  members  of  the  Committee 
arose  when  he  entered,  and  remained  on  their  feet  dur 
ing  the  proceedings. 

Colonel  Wm.  F.  Vilas,  Chairman  of  the  Committee, 
then  addressed  the  nominee  in  eloquent  and  fitting  words, 
and  presented  the  formal  notification  which  was  read  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Committee,  Hon.  Nicholas  M.  Bell. 
The  address  contained  this  paragraph : 

"  In  grateful  performance  of  the  duty,  we  are  entitled 


360  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

to  express  the  admiration  of  the  Convention  and  of  the 
party  for  your  well-known  personal  services  and  char 
acter,  and  for  your  distinguished  public  services  and 
maintenance  of  the  principles  and  objects  which  are  be 
lieved  best  calculated  to  promote  the  security,  happiness 
and  welfare  of  the  people." 

The  address  was  signed  by  the  Chairman  and  Secre 
tary,  and  by  the  members  of  the  Committee— one  from 
each  State  and  Territory.  Mr.  Hendricks  replied  as  fol 
lows  : 

44  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee: 
I  can  not  realize  that  a  man  should  ever  stand  in  the 
presence  of  a  committee  representing  a  more  august  body 
of  men  than  that  which  you  represent.  In  the  language 
of  another,  « the  Convention  was  large  in  numbers,  august 
in  culture,  and  patriotic  in  sentiment,'  and  may  I  not  add 
to  that,  that  because  of  the  power  and  greatness  and  the 
virtues  of  the  party  which  it  represented,  it  was  itself  in 
every  respect  a  very  great  Convention. 

"The  delegates  came  from  all  the  States  and  Terri 
tories,  and  I  believe,  too,  from  the  District  of  Columbia. 
They  came  clothed  with  the  authority  to  express  judg 
ment  and  opinion  on  all  those  questions  which  are  not 
settled  by  constitutional  law.  For  the  purpose  of  pass 
ing  upon  those  questions  and  selecting  a  ticket  for  the 
people,  that  Convention  assembled.  The}  decided  upon 
the  principles  that  they  would  adopt  as  a  platform.  They 
selected  the  candidates  that  they  would  propose  to  the 
party  for  their  support,  and  that  Convention  work  was 
theirs. 

"  I  have  not  reached  the  period  when  it  is  proper  for 
me  to  consider  the  strength  and  force  of  the  statements 
made  in  the  platform.  It  is  enough  for  me  to  know  that 
it  comes  at  your  hands  from  that  convention,  addressed 
to  my  patriotic  devotion  to  the  Democratic  party.  I  ap- 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  361 

predate  the  honor  you  have  done  me  ;  I  need  not  ques 
tion  that.  But  at  the  same  time  that  I  accept  the  honor 
from  you  and  from  the  convention,  I  feel  that  the  duties 
and  the  responsibility  of  the  office  rest  upon  me  also. 

"  I  know  that  sometimes  it  is  understood  that  this  par 
ticular  office — that  of  Vice  President — does  not  involve 
much  responsibility,  and  as  a  general  thing  that  is  so, 
but  sometimes  it  comes  to  represent  very  great  responsi 
bilities,  and  it  may  be  so  in  the  near  future,  for  at  this 
time  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  stands  almost 
equally  divided  between  the  two  great  parties,  and  it 
may  be  that  those  two  great  parties  shall  so  exactly  differ 
that  the  Vice  President  of  the  United  States  shall  have 
to  decide  upon  questions  of  law  by  the  exercise  of  the  cast 
ing  vote.  The  responsibility  would  then  become  very 
great.  It  would  not  then  be  the  responsibility  of  repre 
senting  a  State  or  district,  it  would  be  the  responsibility 
of  representing  the  whole  country,  and  the  obligation 
would  be  to  the  judgment  of  the  whole  country,  and  that 
vote,  when  thus  cast,  should  be  in  obedience  to  the  just 
expectations  and  requirements  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  It  might  be,  gentlemen,  that  upon  another  occa 
sion  this  responsibility  would  attach  to  the  office  : 

"  It  might  occur  that  under  circumstances  of  some 
difficulty — I  don't  think  it  will  be  next  election,  but  it 
may  occur  under  circumstances  of  some  difficulty — the 
President  of  the  Senate  will  have  to  take  his  part  in  the 
counting  of  the  electoral  vote  ;  and  allow  me  to  say  that 
that  duty  is  not  to  be  discharged  in  obedience  to  any  set 
of  men  or  to  any  party,  but  in  obedience  to  a  higher 
authority.  Gentlemen,  you  have  referred  to  the  fact  that 
I  am  honored  by  this  nomination  in  a  very  special  degree. 
I  accept  the  suggestion  that  in  this  candidacy  I  will  rep 
resent  the  right  of  the  people  to  choose  their  own  rulers ; 
that  right  that  is  above  all,  that  lies  beneath  all,  for  if  the 
people  are  denied  the  right  to  choose  their  own  officers 


-362  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

according  to  their  own  judgment,  what  shall  become  of 
the  rights  of  the  people  at  all?  What  shall  become  of 
free  government  if  the  people  select  not  their  own  officers? 
How  shall  they  control  the  laws,  their  administration  and 
their  execution.  So  that,  in  suggesting  that  in  this  can 
didacy  I  represent  the  right  of  the  people,  as  you  have 
suggested,  a  great  honor  has  devolved  upon  me  by  the 
confidence  of  the  Convention.  As  soon  as  it  may  be  con 
venient  and  possible  to  do  so,  I  will  address  you  more 
formally  in  respect  to  the  letter  you  have  given  me.  I 
thank  you,  gentlemen." 

In  due  time,  accordingly,  Mr.  Hendricks  addressed 
to  the  committee  a  brief  formal  letter  of  acceptance,  dated 
Indianapolis,  August  20,  1884. 

The  ticket  was  very  favorably  received.  The  mug 
wumps  were  delighted,  and  hastened  to  pledge  it  their 
support — and  they  fully  redeemed  their  pledges  in  the 
long  and  angry  campaign  which  followed.  In  no  part  of 
the  country  was  the  struggle  characterized  by  more  heat 
than  in  Indiana.  The  campaign  was  formally  opened 
for  the  Democrats  by  Mr.  Hendricks  in  his  speech  in 
Circle  Park,  Indianapolis,  the  evening  of  August  3Oth, 
with  the  accompaniment  of  a  grand  torch-light  procession. 

He  had  sounded  the  "  key  note  "  six  weeks  before  (July 
I2th),  when  he  spoke  of  Mr.  Cleveland  in  terms  of  warm 
commendation,  planted  himself  squarely  on  the  Chicago 
platform,  took  strong  ground  for  civil  service  and  tariff 
reform,  denounced  the  corruption  and  extravagance  of 
Republican  Administrations,  and  showed  that  a  large 
surplus  in  the  Treasury  instead  of  being  something  to  be 
proud  of  was  the  result  of  a  foolish  and  mistaken  policy, 
and  that  the  money  thus  collected  by  taxation  was  safer 
in  the  pockets  of  the  people  than  in  the  vaults  of  the 
Treasury. 

Out  of  this  speech  grew  the  controversy  with  the  Hon. 
Wm.  E.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Mr.  Hen- 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  363 

dricks,  on  the  strength  of  Mr.  Chandler's  own  testimony 
before  a  Senate  Committee,  charged  that  there  had  been 
a  defalcation  in  the  Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery  of 
the  Navy  Department  amounting  to  $63,000.  The  Sec 
retary  answered  in  an  open  letter  in  the  newspapers,  but 
when  Mr.  Hendricks's  reply  was  made  public,  it  was  seen 
not  only  that  there  had  been  ample  ground  for  the  charge, 
but  also  that  Mr.  Chandler's  explanation  had  not  mended 
matters. 

Mr.  Hendricks  marked  out  the  lines  upon  which  the 
battle  was  to  be  fought ;  no  step  was  taken  without  his 
advice ;  he  led  his  party  ;  there  was  no  part  of  the  State 
in  which  his  voice  was  not  heard,  and  the  grand  Demo 
cratic  victory  was  largely  due  to  his  tireless  energy,  and 
to  the  enthusiasm  which  his  splendid  leadership  inspired 
in  every  subordinate.  With  such  a  leader  defeat  was 
simply  impossible.  Not  even  the  presence  of  both  the 
Republican  candidates  within  her  borders,  not  the  des 
perate  efforts  and  unscrupulous  methods  of  political  mana 
gers,  could  win  Indiana  away  from  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 

He  carried  the  war  across  the  border  to  Ohio  and  Illi 
nois.  Everywhere  the  people  flocked  to  hear  and  see 
him.  His  speeches  were  uniformlv  good — strong,  digni 
fied  and  temperate  in  their  tone,  they  made  a  profound 
impression  upon  thinking  people. 

In  September,  on  his  way  to  Peoria,  111.,  he  was  ac 
companied  in  a  private  car  by  two  of  his  nieces,  and  by 
Mr.  J.  C.  Shoemaker,  Mr.  F.  T.  Lee,  Mr.  Elliott  Hord 
and  others.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  car 
jumped  the  track  and  fell  on  its  side  with  a  crash  into 
the  ditch.  The  lights  went  out.  Confusion  reigned.  Men 
and  bedding  were  thrown  across  the  aisle,  and  buried 
those  on  the  under  side.  Several  persons  were  badly 
bruised  ;  but  the  first  question  of  each  as  he  emerged  from 
the  debris  was,  "  Where  is  Mr.  Hendricks?  "  or,  "  Is  the 
Governor  hurt?  "  Fortunately  he  escaped  with  but  slight 


364  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

bruises,  and  was  able  to  keep  his  appointment  at  Peoria, 
speaking  to  immense  throngs  in  the  afternoon  and  even 
ing.  On  the  return  the  Bloomington  people  intercepted 
his  car,  and  took  him  to  Saybrook,  a  small  village  in 
their  county,  to  address  a  mass  meeting.  At  this  place 
there  was  a  great  demonstration,  and  his  carriage  was 
drawn  by  a  club  of  uniformed  men.  On  the  ride  back  to 
Bloomington  a  party  of  young  ladies  was  brought  into  the 
car  by  the  courtly  and  chivalrous  Bayless  W.  Hanna, 
and  the  Governor  greatly  enjoyed  their  chat  and  laugh 
ter  and  songs,  as  they  crowded  round  him  ;  while  they 
in  return  pronounced  him  quite  the  loveliest  gentleman 
they  had  ever  met,  and  wished  the  young  men  were  like 
him. 

His  influence  was  felt  as  a  great  help  to  his  ticket  in 
New  York.  Mr.  John  Kelly  had  bitterly  opposed  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  and  it  was  found  that,  as  Mr. 
Kelly  virtually  controlled  some  70,000  votes,  his  opposi 
tion  would  give  New  York  to  Blaine,  notwithstanding 
the  large  Republican  defection.  Mr.  Hendricks,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Kelly  and  a  great 
favorite  with  the  Tammany  organization,  and  the  verv 
fact  that  his  name  was  on  the  ticket,  taken  in  connection 
with  his  personal  influence  with  the  Tammany  chieftain, 
did  much  to  check  the  threatened  bolt.  He  made  sev 
eral  trips  to  New  York  during  the  canvass  and  spoke  at 
a  number  of  points. 

But  Mr.  Hendricks's  best  work  was  done  in  Indiana. 
Here  he  knew  the  people  and  was  known  by  them.  At 
the  barbecue  at  Shelbyville— his  old  town— it  seemed  as 
though  the  whole  State  had  turned  out  to  do  him  honor. 
The  roads  in  every  direction  were  choked  with  vehicles, 
the  trains  were  crowded,  and  it  is  estimated  that  there 
were  at  least  thirty  thousand  strangers  packed  in  the 
streets  of  the  little  city.  They  all  came  to  welcome  Hen 
dricks  to  Shelbyville.  He  was  not  there,  having  received 


THE    LAST    BATTLE.  365 

an  imperative  summons  to  Ohio.  His  absence  was  a 
great  disappointment,  but  its  necessity  was  recognized. 

The  Democratic  party  of  Indiana  was  fortunate  in  its 
candidates,  for  they  were  all  good  campaigners.  We 
have  seen  what  effective  work  Mr.  Hendricks  did  ;  and 
he  was  ably  seconded  by  Hon.  Isaac  P.  Gray,  the  nom 
inee  for  Governor.  The  competitor  of  the  latter  was 
Hon.  William  H.  Calkins,  a  talented  and  popular  gen 
tleman,  who  had  resigned  from  Congress  to  become  the 
head  of  the  Republican  State  ticket. 

A  series  of  joint  debates  between  the  candidates  for 
Governor  had  been  arranged,  but  Maj.  Calkins  broke 
down  physically,  and  they  had  to  be  abandoned.  Col. 
Gray  went  through  the  canvass  in  fine  shape,  speaking 
at  many  points  in  city,  town  and  hamlet,  and  fairly 
earning  the  splendid  victory  which  he  won.  In  spite, 
however,  of  the  fact  that  the  drift  all  seemed  to  be  with 
the  Democrats,  and  notwithstanding  the  Independent 
Republican  movement,  there  were  many  things  that  made 
the  result  extremely  doubtful.  The  situation  was  full  of 
uncertainty.  The  Republicans  were  disturbed  by  the 
candidacy  of  St.  John,  the  Prohibitionist ;  and  Butler,  the 
Greenback  candidate,  was  the  Democratic  thorn  in  the 
flesh. 

It  was  known,  or  at  least  supposed,  that  Butler  would 
have  a  large  following  among  Tammany  men  in  New 
York,  as  he  was  strongly  supported  by  the  New  York 
Sun.  But  though  majorities  suffered  somewhat,  it  turned 
out  that  the  Republican  States  went  Republican  and  the 
Democratic  States  Democratic.  Those  Tammany  men 
who  could  not  support  Mr.  Cleveland,  either  did  not  vote 
at  all  or  voted  for  Mr.  Blaine  directly,  so  that  Butler  did 
not  cut  much  of  a  figure  in  New  York ;  and  when  the 
votes  were  counted  it  was  found  that  that  State — by  a 
very  small  majority  it  is  true — together  with  Indiana, 


366  THE    LAST    BATTLE. 

New  Jersey,  Connecticut   and   all  the   Southern  States, 
had  chosen  Cleveland  and  Hendricks  electors. 

But  the  Republican  managers  were  not  disposed  to  give 
up  until  they  were  compelled  to,  and  by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Jay 
Gould  and  his  Western  Union  Telegraph  they  held  back 
the  returns  as  long  as  possible,  in  the  hope  that  something 
might  turn  up.  The  hope  was  vain. 

It  was  a  great  victory,  won  over  a  skillful  and  experi 
enced  foe  aided  by  all  the  power  and  patronage  of  the 
Federal  Government  and  fighting  with  a  desperate  de 
termination  to  hold  its  ground.  After  a  twenty-four  years' 
lease  of  power,  the  Republican  party  looked  upon  the 
National  Government  as  its  own  peculiar  property — 
certainly  it  used  it  in  that  way. 

Naturally  there  was  much  rejoicing  among  Democrats 
everywhere  over  the  result.  Jollification  meetings  were 
held  all  over  the  country.  Speeches  were  made,  cannon 
were  fired,  there  were  processions  and  music  and  flags  and 
fire-works.  People  seemed  to  have  gone  wild — the  news 
was  too  good  to  be  true.  Mr.  Hendricks  was  the  recip 
ient  of  congratulatory  telegrams  and  letters  by  the 
bushel.  He  kept  "  open  house,"  and  he  had  all  the  call 
ers  he  could  shake  hands  with.  Every  night  and  nearly 
all  day  long  for  a  week,  the  streets  of  Indianapolis  were 
thronged  with  people  shouting  themselves  hoarse  over 
the  victory.  The  city  was  ablaze  with  the  light  of  bon 
fires,  buildings  were  illuminated,  the  air  was  full  of  fire 
works,  and  above  and  through  it  all  was  a  continuous 
roar  of  voices. 

Thus  the  battle  was  won,  and,  so  far  as  Indiana  was 
concerned,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  was  its  hero. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

VICE  PRESIDENT. 

The  Democratic  success  was  at  last  an  established  fact. 
Some  degree  of  quiet  succeeded  the  great  excitement  that 
immediately  followed  the  election,  and  the  people  turned 
from  their  boisterous  demonstrations  of  joy  over  the  vic 
tory  to  honor  the  victors.  Democrats  everywhere  seemed 
more  than  anxious  to  show  their  great  satisfaction  at  hav 
ing  finally  succeeded  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  in 
electing  Mr.  Hendricks  Vice  President. 

The  weeks  of  November  immediately  following  the 
election  he  spent  in  New  York,  where  he  was  almost 
overwhelmed  with  honors.  On  the  2ist  he  addressed  an 
audience  numbering  thousands,  in  the  Brooklyn  Rink. 
With  characteristic  eloquence  he  gave  to  New  York 
greeting  from  the  Indiana  Democracy,  and  discussed  the 
living  questions  of  the  day  in  a  manner  that  met  the  hearty 
approval  of  his  hearers.  On  the  24th  he  was  serenaded 
by  the  Sullivan  Club  at  Newark,  where  he  had  gone  to 
review  a  parade,  and  the  speech  in  which  he  expressed 
his  gratitude  for  the  honor  paid  him  was  received  with 
enthusiasm,  such  as  was  everywhere  called  forth  by  his 
appearance.  The  rooms  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hen 
dricks  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  were  crowded  with  dis 
tinguished  visitors,  who  could  not  honor  too  highly  the 
Vice  President  elect  and  his  accomplished  wife.  Indeed, 
he  said  to  a  friend  that  if  he  should  remain  in  New  York 
much  longer,  he  would  be  killed  with  kindness. 

In  February  Mr.  Hendricks  met  Governor  Cleveland 

(367) 


368  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

at  Albany,  and  from  there  he  went  South.  At  Atlanta 
he  delivered  an  able  address,  and  the  overwhelming  cor 
diality  with  which  he  was  received  there,  and  at  New 
Orleans  and  Birmingham  (Ala.),  indicates  the  triumphal 
character  of  his  journey  and  his  great  popularity  in  the 
South. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  Mr.  Hendricks  was  as  pop 
ular  at  home  as  abroad.  Among  the  tributes  paid  him  in 
his  own  State,  probably  none  pleased  him  more  than  the 
presentation  of  a  gavel  of  Indiana  hickory,  made  for  him 
in  the  workshop  of  the  Rose  Polytechnic  Institute  by 
John  G.  Mack.  A  note  from  the  maker  expressed  well 
the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  Indiana  in  saying  of  the 
gavel,  "  In  your  hands  it  will  ever  be  the  emblem  of 
authority  as  well  as  of  impartiality." 

Thus  the  winter  wore  away,  and  the  last  week  in  Feb 
ruary  the  Vice  President  elect,  with  his  wife  and  several 
friends,  set  out  for  Washington  in  the  car  "  Maryland." 
The  journey  was  a  pleasant  one,  and  not  till  they  reached 
their  destination  did  they  know  that  they  had  narrowly 
escaped  a  serious  accident.  Arrangements  had  been 
made  to  give  Mr.  Hendricks  a  rousing  welcome  on  his 
arrival  February  27th,  but  by  some  mistake  he  and  Mrs. 
Hendricks  were  hurried  at  once  to  a  carriage  and  driven 
away,  although  many  of  the  Democratic  Congressmen 
were  at  the  station  to  greet  him.  This  disappointment 
was  compensated  however  by  the  informal  reception  at 
their  hotel  that  evening. 

The  day  before  the  inauguration  Mr.  Hendricks  visited 
the  Senate,  where  he  was  cordially  received  by  all  the 
Senators  without  regard  to  party  division.  In  the  lobby 
of  the  House  he  received  an  ovation  from  both  the  Re 
publican  and  Democratic  Representatives. 

At  last  dawned  the  welcome,  the  thrice  longed-for  day. 
The  4th  of  March,  1885,  was  a  jubilee  for  the  Democ 
racy.  After  twenty-eight  years  they  were  to  inaugurate 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  369 

once  more  a  President  and  a  Vice  President  of  their  own 
choice. 

Just  after  eleven  o'clock  the  Senate  Chamber  began  to 
fill.  The  galleries  were  occupied  by  friends  of  the  of 
ficials.  Mr.  Edmunds  was  in  the  Chair ;  and  as  soon  as 
a  quorum  of  the  Senators  arrived,  they  proceeded  to  busi 
ness.  The  last  session  of  the  Senate  of  the  47th  Con 
gress  is  memorable  for  the  passage  of  the  Grant  Retire 
ment  bill,  and  for  the  last  message  of  President  Arthur, 
which  nominated  General  Grant  to  the  newly  created  va 
cancy.  The  applause  which  greeted  these  announce 
ments  was  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps,  fifty  strong,  clad  in  uniforms  varying  from  the 
silken  robes  and  mandarin  caps  of  the  Chinese  to  the 
gorgeous,  gold-bedecked  dress  of  the  Europeans.  They 
entered  unannounced  and  were  escorted  to  seats  in  the 
front  and  on  the  right  of  the  Chair.  Just  before  the  en 
trance  of  the  Supreme  Court  Justices,  arrayed  in  their 
.ample  black  silk  gowns  and  preceded  by  their  Marshal, 
the  annual  act  of  turning  back  the  hands  of  the  clock 
was  performed  by  the  veteran  door-keeper,  Captain  Isaac 
Eassett.  The  Justices  were  seated  on  the  right  in  front 
of  the  Chair,  just  as  President  Arthur  was  announced. 
A  moment  later  and  the  buzz  of  conversation  was  again 
suspended  at  the  announcement,  "  The  President  elect  of 
the  United  States."  Mr.  Cleveland  had  already  entered 
the  Chamber  with  his  escort,  and  halting  within  sight  of 
the  assemblage  he  received  the  most  cordial  welcome. 
The  Vice  President  elect  was  then  ushered  into  the 
Chamber  and  received  a  similar  greeting.  The  oath 
of  office  was  administered  to  Mr.  Hendricks  by  the 
President  -pro  tempore,  in  the  room  which  he  had  left  just 
sixteen  years  before  as  an  ex-Senator.  When  this  cere 
mony  was  concluded,  Mr.  Edmunds  took  his  leave  of  the 
.Senate  in  a  brief  address  and  declared  that  body  ad- 
24 


370  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

journed  without  day.  Mr.  Hendricks  then  took  the  gavel 
and  called  the  Senate  to  order  in  extra  session.  Prayer 
was  offered  by  the  Chaplain,  after  which  the  Vice  Presi 
dent  in  a  few  appropriate  words  accepted  his  position  as 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  new  Senators  were  then 
sworn  in,  and  after  the  President's  Message  convening 
the  Senate  had  been  read,  a  procession  was  formed  and 
filed  its  way  toward  the  platform  on  the  central  portico  of 
the  Capitol. 

This  platform  was  large  enough  for  2,000  chairs,  which 
were  occupied  by  Senators,  members  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps,  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  press  reporters. 

The  crowd  about  this  stand  was  one  solid  mass  of  hu 
manity  for  nearly  four  hundred  feet  in  front  of  the  stand, 
and  more  than  one  thousand  feet  on  either  side.  The 
trees  in  the  great  lawn  were  filled,  and  the  roofs  of 
the  surrounding  dwellings  were  covered.  In  the  ap 
proaching  avenues  and  streets  the  military  companies 
and  society  organizations  were  massed  in  columns  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach.  This  throng  was  variously  esti 
mated.  President  Arthur  said  afterwards  that  it  was  the 
greatest  crowd  he  ever  saw.  Senator  Hawley,  as  he 
looked  at  it,  said  that  it  numbered  about  150,000  people. 

Mr.  Cleveland  took  his  place  before  this  vast  assemblage 
at  half-past  twelve  o'clock  and  read  his  inaugural  address, 
in  which  he  testified  to  his  appreciation  of  the  honors  con 
ferred  upon  him  and  stated  his  position  with  regard  to 
the  questions  of  the  day.  When  this  brief  address  was 
concluded  with  an  invocation  of  the  blessing  of  Provi 
dence,  the  Chief  Justice  administered  the  oath  of  office, 
after  which  the  new  President  was  duly  cheered  and  con 
gratulated.  The  Senate  then  adjourned,  and  the  Presi 
dential  party  started  on  their  triumphal  progress  to  the 
White  House.  President  Cleveland  and  ex-President 
Arthur  occupied  the  first  carriage,  and  Vice  President 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  371 

Hendricks,  with  the  Senatorial  Committee,  occupied  the 
second.  During  their  progress  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people  was  so  great  that  the  police  had  great  difficulty  in 
keeping  the  avenue  open.  Mr.  Cleveland  acknowledged, 
with  his  accustomed  dignity,  the  cheers  which  his  pres 
ence  called  forth,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  often  rose  from  his 
seat  to  bow  to  the  eager  and  friendly  crowds.  The  grace 
of  his  bearing  showed  the  refined  gentleman,  in  whom 
the  people  might  well  put  their  trust. 

Arrived  at  the  White  House,  the  President,  ex-Presi 
dent  and  Vice  President  proceeded  to  the  reviewing  stand 
on  Pennsylvania  avenue,  just  in  front  of  the  Mansion. 
The  President  stood  during  the  review ;  ex-President 
Arthur  sat  on  his  right ;  the  Vice-President  and  Mrs. 
Hendricks,  with  their  friends,  together  with  the  sister  and 
friends  of  the  President,  sat  at  the  left.  The  west  of  the 
stand  was  occupied  by  prominent  men,  including  officers 
of  the  Army  and  Navy  and  members  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps,  nearly  all  of  them  accompanied  by  ladies. 

Just  after  2  o'clock,  the  procession  started  from  the 
corner  of  Fifteenth  street.  The  review  was  a  grand  sight, 
and  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  no  more  brilliant 
pageant  had  ever  been  witnessed  in  this  country. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  review,  the  Presidential  party 
proceeded  to  the  dining  room  of  the  White  House,  where 
they  partook  of  a  luncheon  ordered  for  them  by  ex-Presi 
dent  Arthur.  The  public  celebration  of  the  day  ended 
with  a  display  of  fire-works,  which  in  volume  and  variety 
is  said  to  have  excelled  any  former  pyrotechnic  exhibi 
tion  on  this  continent.  But  the  great  social  event  of  the 
day  was  the  ball,  held  in  the  unfinished  Pension  Building. 
The  scene  was  a  brilliant  one ;  the  decorations  were 
superb  and  the  music  was  inspiring.  The  festivities  of 
the  evening  opened  with  a  promenade  concert,  during 
which  the  President  and  Vice  President  held  a  levee  in 
the  reception  room.  They  arrived  about  10:30  o'clock. 


372  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

Soon  the  room  became  overcrowded,  and  they  left  to 
make  the  tour  of  the  ball  room. 

Just  before  midnight  the  Presidential  party  retired  from 
the  festive  scene,  but  the  dancing  continued  for  some 
hours. 

Although  Lent  had  put  an  end  to  social  gaieties,  the 
weeks  immediately  following  the  inauguration  were  filled 
to  overflowing  with  society  duties  for  the  Vice  President 
and  Mrs.  Hendricks.  The  people  of  Washington  could 
not  do  enough  to  honor  them.  Many  had  hoped  eight 
years  before  that  they  would  grace  once  more  the  social 
circles  of  the  Capital,  and  now  that  they  were  come,  Mr. 
Hendricks  was  expected  to  honor  every  social  event  with 
his  presence ;  and  society  looked  for  a  leader  in  Mrs. 
Hendricks.  Her  parlors  at  Willard's  were  crowded  with 
people  desirous  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  this  woman, 
whose  intellectual  power  and  social  grace  make  her  a 
favorite  everywhere. 

The  special  session  of  the  Senate  was  brief,  being  de 
voted  to  the  consideration  of  the  President's  nominations 
and  other  executive  business,  and  the  adjournment  took 
place  April  3d.  Mr.  Hendricks  thus  presided  thirty 
days  over  this  body,  in  which  he  had  once  sat  as  leader 
of  a  hopeless  minority.  But  nothing  occurred  to  call 
forth  his  talents  in  any  way.  The  Senate  is  a  dignified 
and  decoroustbody,  and  the  duty  of  the  presiding  officer 
is  easily  performed.  It  must  be  remembered  also  that 
he  had  never  sought  or  aspired  to  the  position  he  held, 
and  its  quiet  and  negative  functions  were  far  from  suit 
able  to  his  active  genius.  Yet  he  was  anything  but  dis 
contented.  A  great  calm  seemed  to  possess  his  spirit. 
He  had  put  away  utterly  all  bitterness  at  the  disappoint 
ment  of  his  Presidential  aspirations  ;  and  neither  his  wife 
nor  his  closest  friend  ever  heard  from  him  a  hint  or  sug 
gestion  that  he  thought  his  party  had  not  honored  him 
enough,  or  that  his  great  competitors,  Tilden  and  Cleve- 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  373 

land,  had  received  more  than  their  due.  Many  of  his  over- 
zealous  friends  were  not  sparing  of  complaints  that  he  had 
been  set  aside  for  others ;  but  this  was  always  painful  to 
him,  and  he  never  failed  to  restrain  them  \vhere  he  could. 
No  Vice  President  had  ever  occupied  such  a  place  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  He  knew  that  he  was  regarded  as 
greater  than  his  office,  that  he  could  not  be  more  honored 
if  he  were  President,  and  his  ambition  was  satisfied.  In 
many  respects  his  last  year  was  his  happiest.  His  cup 
of  honors  was  full ;  his  loving  and  beloved  wife  was  every 
where  with  him  ;  and  free  from  selfish  cares,  he  could  de 
vote  his  thoughts  to  the  good  of  his  party  and  the  inter 
ests  of  his  friends.  His  heart,  moreover,  was  less  fixed 
upon  earthly  things  than  in  former  years.  In  1880  at  the 
Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas  a  paralytic  stroke  had  warned 
him  of  approaching  death,  and  two  years  later  another 
malady  seemed  to  announce  that  the  end  was  come.  He 
was  prepared  to  meet  it  calmly,  and  spoke  of  his  work  as 
finished.  But  he  recovered.  Returning  as  it  were  from 
the  other  world,  he  accepted  each  day  as  a  boon  from  his 
Creator — as  a  further  opportunity  to  serve  his  country — 
and  each  additional  honor  and  success  as  a  gift  beyond 
what  he  had  asked  or  expected.  So  he  did  not  seek  the 
Presidential  office  in  1884,  and  he  accepted  the  nomina 
tion  for  the  Vice  Presidency  in  the  knowledge  and  belief 
that  the  labor  of  the  canvass  would  probably  be  fatal  to 
him.  But  his  desire  was  to  serve  his  country,  his  party, 
and  his  friends  ;  and  with  this  motive  he  accepted  the 
nomination  tendered  so  unanimously. 

As  was  natural  under  the  circumstances,  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  influence  was  solicited  by  a  great  many  persons 
who  desired  to  secure  positions  and  employment  in  the 
Government  service — from  the  gentleman  asking  a  Euro 
pean  mission  to  the  laborer  asking  the  janitorship  of  a 
public  building.  To  all  these  he  was  courteous  alike, 
and  considerate  of  their  feelings  and  claims.  In  every 


374  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

case  where  the  applicant  seemed  to  him  deserving,  and 
where  there  was  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success,  he  in 
terested  himself  in  the  case  and  did  what  he  could  to 
promote  it.  He  recognized  the  right  of  any  citizen  to 
apply  for  an  office.  He  held  his  position  by  the  votes  of 
Democrats,  and  every  Democrat  who  appealed  to  him 
for  help  had  his  sympathy.  In  the  interest  of  his  friends 
he  remained  some  time  in  Washington  after  the  Senate 
adjourned,  and  made  several  journeys  thither  during  the 
summer.  This  led  to  the  charge  in  some  quarters  that 
he  was  opposed  to  the  civil  service  law  and  desired  a 
sweeping  change  of  all  government  employes.  The  ill- 
advised  opposition  made  by  the  member  of  Congress 
from  the  Seventh  Indiana  District  to  the  gentleman  rec 
ommended  by  the  Vice  President  for  postmaster  at  Indian 
apolis,  attracted  undue  attention.  That  Mr.  Hendricks  was 
hostile  to  the  principles  or  purposes  of  the  Civil  Service 
Law,  is  entirely  untrue.  He  had  himself,  when  Commis 
sioner  of  the  Land  Office,  applied  those  principles  with 
great  skill  and  success,  and  the  abuses  which  the  law 
was  designed  to  break  up — appointments  irrespective  of 
merit,  and  political  assessments — he  had  at  all  times  dis 
countenanced.  To  the  particular  methods  of  the  Civil 
Service  act  he  had  no  objection,  having  said  when  the 
bill  was  under  consideration,  "If  it  be  found  expedient 
to  appoint  examiners  after  the  manner  of  the  school  sys 
tem,  let  that  also  be  done."  No  one  desired  more  than 
he  the  improvement  of  the  civil  service,  or  believed  more 
earnestly  that  the  affairs  of  the  Government  should  be 
administered  upon  strict  business  principles.  Further 
more,  even  had  he  disapproved  of  the  law  entirely,  he 
would  never  in  any  way  have  obstructed  its  operation. 
In  fact,  he  scrupulously  refrained  from  making  any  sug 
gestions  as  to  appointments  in  cases  covered  by  the  pro 
visions  of  the  law.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Civil 
Service  Law  applies  to  less  than  fifteen  thousand  posi- 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  375 

tions  in  all,  and  these  mainly  clerical.  Of  the  remaining 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  his  opinion  remained 
the  same  as  when  he  wrrote  as  follows,  in  his  letter  of  ac 
ceptance,  July  24,  1876: 

4i*In  the  reform  of  our  civil  service  I  most  heartily  en 
dorse  that  section  of  the  platform  \vhich  declares  that  the 
civil  service  ought  not  to  be  '  subject  to  change  at  every 
election,'  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  made  <  the  brief  re 
ward  of  party  zeal,'  Lmt  ought  to  be  awarded  for  proved 
competency,  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the  public  employ. 
I  hope  never  again  to  see  the  cruel  and  remorseless  pro 
scription  for  political  opinions  which  has  disgraced  the 
Administration  of  the  last  eight  years.  Bad  as  the  Civil 
Service  now  is,  as  all  know,  it  has  some  men  of  tried  in 
tegrity  and  proved  ability.  Such  men,  and  such  men 
only,  should  be  retained  in  office ;  but  no  man  should  be 
retained,  on  any  consideration,  who  has  prostituted  his 
office  to  the  purposes  of  partisan  intimidation  or  compul 
sion  or  who  has  furnished  money  to  corrupt  the  elections." 

His  views  on  this  subject  may  be  found  more  fully 
stated  further  on,  in  the  letter  of  acceptance  referred  to ; 
in  the  speech  at  the  Circle  Park  ratification  meeting, 
July  12,  1884 ;  and  in  the  speech  to  the  Bay  State  Club, 
June  25,  1885. 

Circumstances  thus  made  Mr.  Hendricks,  to  a  certain 
extent  and  far  more  than  he  desired  to  be,  the  advocate 
of  the  office-seekers.  It  followed  that  every  Democrat 
who  was  disappointed  in  his  hope  of  office  imagined  that 
if  Mr.  Hendricks  were  President,  his  desires  would  have 
been  gratified.  Thus  arose  the  fiction  of  an  opposition  to 
the  President's  policy  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hendricks,  and 
even  of  unfriendly  personal  relations  between  the  two. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  there  was  nothing  in 
such  rumors.  Mr.  Hendricks  entertained  a  high  re 
gard  for  Mr.  Cleveland,  a  sincere  respect  for  his  abil- 


376  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

ity,  and  a  thorough  confidence  in  his  integrity  of  purpose 
and  character.     He  said  in  a  public  speech,  in  1884  : 

"Not  long  since,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Governor 
Cleveland.  I  found  him  affable  and  courteous,  clear  and 
distinct  in  his  views,  and  strong  in  and  direct  in  the  ex 
pression  of  his  purposes.  He  seemed  to  me  as  free  from 
concealments  and  the  arts  of  the  demagogue  as  any  man 
I  know.  As  far  as  I  could  judge  in  a  single  conversa 
tion,  I  thought  him  in  a  marked  degree  governed  by  his 
convictions  of  duty." 

There  had  been  no  reason  for  a  change  of  opinion. 
It  is  well  known  to  all  his  friends  that  Mr.  Hendricks 
invariably  spoke  highly  of  Mr.  Cleveland.  He  appreci 
ated  the  unusual  difficulties  of  the  President's  position 
and  the  high  value  to  the  country,  at  such  a  juncture,  of 
his  phenomenal  firmness  and  strength  of  will. 

One  of  the  pleasant  episodes  of  the  last  year  of  his  life 
was  his  visit  to  Yale  and  Harvard.  Throughout  his 
professional  career,  he  appeared  often  before  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  was  remarkably 
successful  in  his  suits  before  that  tribunal.  With  the 
members  of  the  Court  he  was  a  decided  favorite,  and  one 
of  them  remarked  in  recent  years,  that  of  all  the  attor 
neys  who  appeared  before  them,  they  most  enjoyed  hear 
ing  Mr.  Hendricks.  His  pleasing  style  and  the  clear 
ness  and  skill  with  which  he  presented  his  cases  no  doubt 
lightened  the  labor  of  the  Justices,  while  his  genial  man 
ner,  his  courtesy  and  fairness  to  opponents,  and  his  easy 
deference  to  the  Court  diffused  an  agreeable  atmos 
phere  around  the  wrangling  and  routine  of  judicial  busi 
ness.  Such  being  his  standing  with  the  Court,  and  long 
familiarity  with  history,  the  subject  he  selected  for  an 
oration  before  the  Yale  Law  School  was  eminently  ap 
propriate :  "The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  influences  that  have  contributed  to  make  it  the 
greatest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  world." 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  377 

This  was  to  be  the  annual  address,  delivered  at  Com 
mencement  to  the  graduates  and  alumni  of  the  school. 
It  had  been  given  in  '84  by  Senator  Thomas  F.  Bayard, 
in  some  previous  year  by  Chief  Justice  Waite  ;  and  it  was 
the  custom  to  secure  for  this  occasion  a  speaker  eminent 
in  the  profession  of  law.  Mr.  Hendricks  early  in  the 
year  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Law 
School  to  deliver  this  address  in  June,  anticipating  much 
pleasure  in  visiting  the  venerable  Yale  College  ;  but  as  the 
months  passed  he  found  his*  occupations  so  engrossing 
that  he  felt  compelled  to  ask  to  be  excused  from  the  en 
gagement.  The  Yale  authorities,  however,  entreated 
him  with  such  courteous  urgency  to  make  the  proposed 
visit,  that  he  resolved  to  do  so  though  it  might  cost  a 
special  effort.  He  therefore  hastened  his  departure  from 
Washington,  with  a  view  to  preparing  the  address  in  the 
quiet  of  his  own  home,  being  anxious  to  make  his  pro 
duction  worthy  of  the  occasion.  He  arrived  at  Indianapo 
lis  near  the  middle  of  May. 

With  the  affability, which  he  always  sho\ved  towrard 
young  men,  he  one  day  told  Mr.  J.  W.  Holcombe  some 
thing  about  the  address,  asked  him  several  questions 
about  commencement  customs  at  the  Eastern  colleges, 
and  invited  him  to  go  on  the  proposed  trip.  Mr.  Hol 
combe  said  he  would  go  with  Mr.  Hendricks  to  Yale  if 
Mr.  Hendricks  would  then  go  with  him  to  Harvard,  his 
own  Alma  Mater.  This  idea  pleased  the  Vice  President, 
and  he  agreed  to  it  almost  immediately,  saying  that  he 
had  never  seen  as  much  of  Boston  as  he  wished,  and  that 
he  thought  he  would  enjoy  the  visit.  Mr.  Holcombe  then 
wrote  to  President  Eliot,  informing  him  that  he  intended 
to  bring  Mr.  Hendricks  to  the  Harvard  Commencement, 
after  the  visit  at  Yale.  President  Eliot  answered  promptly, 
signifying  his  pleasure  and  that  of  the  Fellows  of  the 
University,  promising  that  suitable  arrangements  \vould 
be  made,  and  suggesting  that  "it  might  perhaps  amuse 


378  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

the  Vice  President  "  to  ride  out  to  the  University  with  the 
Governor  in  the  State  procession. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  left  Indianapolis  quietly  about 
the  middle  of  June  ;  and  after  resting  a  week  at  Atlantic 
City,  the  Vice  President,  with  Mr.  Wm.  A.  Peelle,  State 
Statistician    of   Indiana,   and  Mr.    Holcombe,  who   had 
joined  them  on  the  way,  repaired  to  Yale.     As  they  is 
sued  from  the  ferry  at  New  York,  a  hackman  stepped  up 
and  said,  "  Mr.  Hendricks,  sir,  this  way  to  a  carriage.'1 
The  man  was  an  Irishman  and  a  Democrat,  and  recog 
nized  Mr.  Hendricks  from  his  pictures.     The  party  ar 
rived  at  the  "City   of  Elms"   late   in   the  afternoon   of 
June  22d,  and  drove  directly  to  the  New  Haven  House, 
Mr.    Hendricks    having  modestly  omitted    to  announce 
when  he  would  arrive.     He  spent  the  evening  receiving 
callers,  walking  about  the  campus,  looking  into  the  rooms 
of  the  students,  chatting   with  the  men  on  "  the  fence," 
and  listening  to  their  college  songs.     About  nine  o'clock 
Mr.  Colin  Ingersoll  and  his  brother,  ex-Governor  Inger- 
soll,  called  and   said  they  had  just  learned  of  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks's  arrival  and  were  come  to  take  him  to  the  house 
of  the  former,  who  had  expected  to  entertain  him.     This 
arrangement  he  agreed  to,  and  during  the  remainder  of 
his   stay  Mr.  Hendricks  was  the  guest  of  that  hospitable 
and  accomplished  family.     The  next  morning  many  dis 
tinguished  people  called,  and  it  was  remarked  that  at  one 
time  the  room  seemed  to  be  full  of  ex-Governors.     The 
short  Gubernatorial   term  of  Connecticut — one   year  till 
recently,  now  two  years— allowing  the  office  to  be  "  passed 
around  "  quite  extensively. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  alumni  Mr.  Hendricks  was  re 
ceived  with  great  cordiality,  and  a  suggestion  in  the 
chairman's  speech  of  his  having  been  twice  elected  Vice 
President  elicited  applause.  The  party  was  elegantly 
entertained  at  luncheon  by  Prof.  Simeon  E.  Baldwin,  of 
the  law  school,  where  a  delightful  hour  was  spent  with 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  379 

the  president  of  the  college  and  a  number  of  the  leading 
professors. 

In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Hendricks  delivered  the  oration 
of  the  day  to  a  large  and  appreciative  audience  in  the 
Center  Church.  This  effort  was  much  admired  by  the 
hearers,  and  received  favorable  comment  from  the  East 
ern  press.  It  is  given  in  full  in  the  latter  part  of  this 
volume.  In  the  evening,  after  attending  the  law  school 
reception,  Mr.  Hendricks  and  party  spent  several  hours 
with  the  New  Haven  Democrats  at  their  club  rooms,  and 
about  midnight  left  "that  goodlie  and  pleasant  citie," 
much  gratified  by  the  kindness  and  hospitality  of  the 
people. 

Arriving  in  Boston,  next  morning,  the  party  was  met 
at  the  Parker  House  by  the  Adjutant  General  of  the 
State,  who  presented  the  compliments  of  the  Governor, 
and  his  request  that  the  Vice  President  and  his  friends 
would  join  the  executive  party  in  the  visit  to  the  univer 
sity.  After  breakfasting  with  Hon.  Leopold  Morse, 
ex-member  of  Congress,  the  party  was  escorted  to  the 
Capitol ;  and  after  a  chat  with  the  Governor,  started  for 
Harvard.  From  the  foundation  of  that  institution  until 
recently,  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  was  ex  offi.cio.  a 
trustee  of  Harvard,  and  it  is  said  that  from  1642  the  chief 
magistrate  has  never  missed  a  commencement.  Though 
the  official  relation  no  longer  exists,  the  annual  visit  is 
still  made  in  proper  state.  On  this  occasion  a  brass  band 
led  the  way  on  horseback,  and  was  followed  by  the  Gov 
ernor's  guard,  a  company  of  mounted  lancers,  wearing 
red  coats  and  plumed  helmets.  Then  came  the  state 
carriage  containing  the  Governor  and  Vice  President, 
with  the  Adjutant  General,  in  full  uniform,  facing  them. 
Then  followed  other  carriages,  containing  the  rest  of  the 
company  with  officers  of  the  staff,  and  finally  more  lan 
cers.  With  such  traditional  pomp  does  the  venerable 
commonwealth  show  her  respect  for  education. 


380 


VICE    PRESIDENT. 


A  ride  of  three  miles  through  the  busy 'streets  of  Bos 
ton,  across  the  bridge  o'er  the  Charles,  and  along  the 
shaded  avenues  of  Cambridge,  brought  the  little  proces 
sion  to  the  college  campus.     Alighting,  the  guests  were 
received  in  Massachusetts  Hall  (one  of  the  old  pre-Rev- 
olutionary  buildings)  by  President  Eliot  and  members  of 
the   Faculty  and   Board   of  Overseers.     Then   the  long^ 
procession  formed— the  President  and  Professors  in  caps 
and   gowns,  the  invited  guests  with  the  Governor  and 
Staff,  and  the  Alumni  by  classes,  in  the  order  of  seniority, 
from  the  class  of  half  a  century  ago  to  the  graduates  of 
the  day,  a  long  line  of  a  thousand  men  or  more— and,, 
with  the  band  leading  the  way,  marched  round  the  Quad 
rangle,  according  to  ancient  custom,  receiving  the  cheers 
of  the  undergraduates.     Assembled  in  groups  upon  the 
green  and  on  the  steps  of  University  Hall,  the  students 
gave  the  peculiar  Harvard  cheer,  "  'Rah  !  'Rah  !  'Rah  !" 
for  the  President  of  the  University,  for  James  Russell 
Lowell    and    other    notable    men    in    the    line,    for    the 
classes,  and,  when  Mr.  Hendricks's  face  was  recognized, 
a  hearty  three-times-three  for  the  Vice  President  of  the 
United    States.       Mr.  Hendricks    enjoyed    the    occasion 
greatly,  entering  into  it  with  the  boyish  zest  and  fresh 
ness  of  spirits  which  he  preserved  beyond   his  sixtieth 
year.     During  the  exercises  in  Sanders  Theater  (a  part 
of  the  grand  Memorial  Hall)  he  listened  attentively  to  the 
orations,  but  confessed  frankly  that  he  most  enjoyed  those 
in  English,  since  the  new  pronunciation  of  Latin  used  at 
Harvard  was  strange  to  his  ear,  and    the  Greek  when 
spoken  was   a  little  too  much   for  him   any  how.     The 
;'  Marshals'  Spread  "  is  a  pleasant  feature  of  Commence 
ment,  being  a  collation  given    by  the    Marshals    of  the 
graduating  class  to  the   Faculty  and  guests.     Here  Mr. 
Hendricks    was    seated,  and   enjoyed    a   chat   with   Dr. 
Holmes.     In  the  afternoon  more    than  twelve    hundred 
men  sat  down  at  the  Alumni  dinner   in  the  great  hall 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  381 

of  the  Memorial  building.  On  the  raised  platform  of  the 
table  of  honor  sat,  on  either  side  of  the  presiding  officer, 
the  Vice  President,  the  Governor,  President  Eliot,  James 
Russell  Lowell,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  and  other  dis 
tinguished  men. 

In  the  midst  of  his  humorous  address,  the  presiding  of 
ficer,  Hon.  Joseph  H.  Choate,  of  New  York,  said  : 

"  Moreover,  we  are  honored  with  the  presence  of  the 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States.  [Great  applause.] 
And  what  could  be  more  fitting,  now  that  Harvard  has 
assumed  such  national  proportions,  than  that  we  should 
receive  such  a  representative  of  our  National  Govern 
ment.  He  comes  fresh  from  Yale  [laughter],  where,  if 
we  can  trust  the  newspapers,  he  gave  utterance  to  two 
thoughts,  one  of  which  needs  qualifying,  while  the  other 
is  strictly  true.  He  said,  '  Yale  is  everywhere.'  Yes, 
indeed,  Yale  is  everywhere,  but  she  always  finds  Har 
vard  there  before  her.  [Applause  and  laughter.]  You 
didn't  let  me  finish  my  sentence.  She  always  finds  Har 
vard  there,  or  just  a  little  in  the  rear.  May  our  boys  at 
New  London  prove  this  next  Friday.  The  other  state 
ment  that  needs  no  qualifying,  is  that  '  public  office  is  a 
public  trust.'  Still,  in  this  he  stole  the  Harvard  thunder. 
That  has  been  our  doctrine  since  the  days  of  John 
Adams." 

Many  interesting  after-dinner  speeches  were  made,  and 
Mr.  Hendricks,  when  introduced,  was  received  with  cor 
dial  applause.  In  his  brief  remarks  he  referred  touch- 
ingly  to  his  own  Alma  Mater,  saying:  "  My  education 
was  obtained  in  a  modest  college  in  the  West,  on  the 
banks  of  one  of  her  most  beautiful  streams,  the  Ohio. 
But  I  can  say  of  her  that  her  course  was  thorough."  He 
continued  in  a  happy  vein,  dwelling  on  the  influence  of 
the  great  Eastern  Universities,  and  especially  of  Har 
vard,  through  the  thousands  of  young  men  they  send  out 
to  the  West. 


382  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

After  a  drive  around  the  University  buildings,  the  Vice 
President  and  party  returned  to  Boston,  and  were  enter 
tained  at  dinner  at  the   Parker  House  by  the  venerable 
Judge  Charles  Levi  Woodbury.    Among  the  guests  were 
Mr.  John  Boyle  O'Reilly,  the  poet,  and  Mr.  Geo.  F.  Bab 
bitt.     Many  other  prominent  men  called   during  the  eve 
ning.     Next  morning  Lieutenant  Governor  Oliver  Ames 
entertained   the  party    at    breakfast,    and    with    a    drive 
through  some  of  the  stately  streets  of  the  city.     An  ex 
cursion  down  the  harbor  to  Fort  Warren  followed,  Lieu 
tenant  Howe  and  Colonel  Mendenhall,  both  Indiana  men, 
being  the  hosts.     At  the  fort  the  Vice  Presidential  salute 
of  nineteen  guns  was  fired  ;  the  troops  were  reviewed  ;  a 
luncheon  was  served  in  the  casemate  apartments  of  Lieu 
tenant    Howe,  and  the  fortifications  and  improvements 
were  inspected.     The  ride  back  was  delightful,  and  the 
hotel  was  reached  in  time  for  the  event  of  the  day,  a  com 
plimentary  dinner   tendered    by    the    Bay    State    Club. 
While  in  New  Haven,  Mr.  Hendricks  had  received  a  tel 
egram,   asking  if  he  would   accept  a  dinner  from   that 
Democratic  organization.    He  thought  it  would  be  a  small 
affair  of  a  dozen  or  more  persons,  and  consented.     But 
it  turned  out  to  be  an  ovation  from  the  leading  Democrats 
of  the  city  and  State.     Two  hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen 
sat  at  the  tables.     The  utmost  good  feeling  and  enthusi 
asm  prevailed,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  was  greeted  with  ris 
ing  cheers.     He  had  not  expected  to  say  more   than  a 
few  sentences  in  the  after-dinner  vein  ;  but  inspired  by 
the  enthusiasm  of  his   hearers  and  their  interest  in  his 
words,  he  plunged  into  the  congenial   task  of  discussing 
public  questions,  and  in  the  space  of  ten  minutes  produced 
a  clear  exposition  oi  his  views  on  practical  Civil  Service 
Reform.     This  speech  is  so  important  that,  though  en 
tirely  impromptu  in  its  delivery,  it  is  given  in  full  among 
the  selected  speeches.     Some  of  the  remarks    by  other 
gentlemen  will  help  here  to  give  the  color  of  this  inter- 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  .  383 

esting  occasion.     The    President  of  the    Club,  Colonel 
Charles  H.Taylor,  said,  in  his  speech  of  introduction: 

"  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Hendricks  goes  so  far  as  to  say 
that  Democrats  should  be  put  in  office.  [A  voice,  "  Good, 
good."]  That  is  surprising,  and  grates  very  harshly  on 
the  nerves  of  the  Republicans.  They  think  the  Demo 
crats  can  carry  out  civil  service  reform  with  a  hundred 
thousand  Republican  office-holders  to  experiment  with. 
We  know  that  can  not  be  done,  and  Cleveland  and  Hen 
dricks  know  that  it  can  not  be  done.  [Applause.]  There 
must  be  a  change  if  we  are  to  show  what  civil  service  is. 
The  enthusiastic  partisans  must  go,  and  I  think  the  proces 
sion  has  already  started.  [Applause.]  We  must  have  busi 
ness  principles  in  the  public  service  of  the  United  States, 
which  must  be  put  on  a  higher  plane  than  it  has  been  for 
the  past  twenty-five  years.  [Renewed  applause.]  " 

After  Mr.  Hendricks's  address  Judge  Woodbury 
was  called  out  and  made  a  humorous  speech,  closing  a& 
follows : 

"  Mr.  Vice  President  we  are  happy  to  see  you  here  to 
day.  We  last  night  performed  the  high  office  of  natur 
alization  in  making  you  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts.  [Ap 
plause.]  We  administered  to  you  the  strawberry  of  the 
sea,  the  fruit  which  made  the  Puritans  strong  and  great, — 
we  introduced  you  to  the  little-neck  clam.  I  know  you 
liked  him,  and  I  felt  assured  from  the  pile  of  shells  around 
you  that  you  had  found  your  proper  country.  [Cheers.] 
Come  back  to  us  every  summer  and  we  will  give  you  a 
clam-bake  with  the  open  hands  of  Massachusetts.  Come 
back  every  summer,  and  let  us  show  you  what  it  is  to 
have  friends  in  a  distant  State."  [Loud  applause,  and 
Yankee  Doodle  by  the  band.] 

Judge  Josiah  G.  Abbott,  a  Democratic  member  of  the 
famous  Electoral  Commission,  said  in  the  midst  of  his 
speech : 


384  VICE    PRESIDENT. 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  offices.  Offices  don't  make  men. 
We  do  not  come  here  to  do  honor  to  that  man  because  he 
has  been  elected  Vice  President.  [Applause.]  We  come 
here  and  our  hearts  go  out  to  him  from  the  Massachusetts 
Democracy,  as  an  honest  and  real  man,  and  as  a  true 
representative  of  the  Democracy  of  this  nation.  [Ap 
plause.]  I  want  to  say  to  you  as  one  who  has  fought  the 
good  fight,  and  as  one  who  has  believed  in  the  principles, 
and  as  one  who  has  kept  the  fire  burning,  that  we  give 
you  welcome  from  thousands  and  thousands  of  Demo 
crats  in  the  good  old  State."  [Cheers.] 

As  an  additional  compliment  to  Mr.  Hendricks,  his 
traveling  companion,  Mr.  Holcombe,  was  then  called  out. 
He  said  : 

"  This  is  certainly  the  happiest  day  of  my  life,  for  it  is 
I  who  am  responsible  for  Mr.  Hendricks  being  here. 
[Cries  of  "  Good,  good."]  I  persuaded  him  to  come, 
because  I  wished  the  men  of  Massachusetts  to  see  him. 
I  had  lived  among  them  several  years  and  learned  to 
know  and  honor  them.  I  knew  that  he  would  like  them, 
and  I  knew  that  it  was  only  necessary  for  them  to  see  and 
know  him  to  love  him  as  we  in  Indiana  love  him.  [Great 
applause.]  The  most  memorable  scene  that  I  ever  wit 
nessed  was  in  the  Indiana  State  Convention  of  1880,  held 
a  few  weeks  before  the  National  Convention  at  Cincin 
nati  of  that  year.  Hon.  Francis  T.  Hord,  Temporary 
Chairman  of  the  Convention,  made  an  eloquent  speech, 
enumerating  by  description  the  prominent  men  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  United  States  who  were  in  the  minds  of 
the  Democrats  for  the  forthcoming  nomination.  Their 
names  were  received  with  applause  as  the  descriptions 
were  given.  Finally  he  lifted  his  hand  and  said,  kk  But 
we  have  a  man  in  Indiana "  At  that  point  the  Con 
vention  arose  as  one  man,  and  for  a  half  hour  hats  waved 
and  throats  shouted  until  physical  exhaustion  put  an  end 
to  the  uproar.  That  spectacle  I  saw  repeated  on  a  larger 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  385 

scale  at  Chicago  last  summer  [exclamations  all  around  of 
"  That's  so  !  "],  and  some  of  you  who  were  there  remem 
ber  it.  [Applause.]  When  the  delegation  of  Illinois  was 
called,  the  Chairman  arose  and  said,  "  Thomas  A.  Hen- 
dricks,  one  vote," — one  vote,  but  it  was  received  by  that 
Convention  as  if  it  had  been  a  unanimous  nomination  for 
the  office  of  President,  [voice  "  That's  so  !  "]  and  we  think 
in  Indiana  that  no  man  ever  received  the  nomination  for 
President  with  greater  honor.  No  nomination  ever  con 
ferred  greater  honor  on  a  man  than  that  nomination, 
given  in  the  way  it  was  given,  conferred  on  Thomas  A. 
Hendricks." 

A  drive  through  the  suburbs  and  a.  visit  in  the  evening 
to  the  rose  exhibit  of  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural 
Society,  completed  this  pleasant  and  eventful  day. 

The  incidents  of  this  journey  have  been  given  thus  fully 
because  the  details  are  within  the  personal  knowledge 
of  the  writer,  but  they  afford  merely  an  example  of 
the  treatment  Mr.  Hendricks  everywhere  received. 
Wherever  he  went,  it  seemed  that  the  people  could  not 
sufficiently  testify  their  pleasure  at  seeing  him  and  their 
admiration  of  his  character.  Leaving  Boston  next  morn 
ing,  he  was  for  two  days  the'guest  of  Mr.  George  H.  Hull 
at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  and  he  then  rejoined  Mrs.  Hendricks 
at  Atlantic  City.  In  a  few  weeks  they  started  on  a  trip  to 
Lake  Superior,  and  were  everywhere  greeted  with  ad 
ditional  honors  and  demonstrations  of  affection.  At 
Waukesha  he  was  tendered  a  brilliant  reception ;  and  at 
every  station  along  his  route  the  people  crowded  round 
his  car  in  the  hope  of  seeing  him.  Often  he  would  go  to 
the  platform  and  shake  hands  and  say  a  few  words. 
Several  times  when  he  happened  to  be  asleep,  the  people 
passed  quietly  through  the  car  to  look  at  him,  but  would 
not  permit  him  to  be  wakened. 

While  on  his  tour  round  the  lakes,  Mr.  Hendricks  re- 
25 


386  VICE     PRESIDENT. 

ceived  the  news  of  General  Grant's  death,  and  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  Senate  took  immediate  steps  to  pay  fitting 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  great  General  and  ex-Presi 
dent,  ordering  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate  by 
telegraph,  to  communicate  with  the  Senators,  and  sum 
mon  a  delegation  to  meet  him  in  New  York  to  attend  the 
funeral.  What  may  have  been  his  inner  feelings  as  he 
took  part  in  that  grandest  funeral  pageant  this  nation  has 
ever  witnessed,  knowing  that  at  any  day  the  people  might 
be  called  upon  to  follow  him  with  like  demonstrations  of 
mourning,  we  may  not  know.  He  preserved  his  outward 
calm  and,  with  McClellan  and  Hancock  and  Seymour 
and  Tilden,  helped  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  leader 
whom  they  were  all  so  soon  to  follow. 

By  September  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  were  again  in 
their  Indianapolis  home,  expecting  to  enjoy  three  months 
of  rest  before  starting  for  Washington,  where*  he  would 
have  to  be  present  at  the  opening  of  the  Congress.  On 
the  8th  of  the  month  he  attended  a  meeting  of  the  citi 
zens  of  Indianapolis,  called  to  express  approval  of  the 
course  of  that  admirable  statesman,  Charles  Stewart 
Parnell,  and  sympathy  with  his  efforts  to  secure  local  self- 
government  for  Ireland.  The  meeting  was  called  by 
Hon.  James  H.  Rice,  and  was  a  magnificent  success. 
Hon.  John  E.  Lamb  presided,  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  Hon. 
John  L.  McMaster,  and  Judge  John  A.  Holman  made 
short  addresses  ;  but  the  speech  of  the  evening  was  that 
of  Mr.  Hendricks,  given  off-hand  and  with  but  little  pre 
meditation.  He  showed  a  complete  knowledge  of  the 
situation  in  Ireland,  a  full  comprehension  of  its  difficul 
ties  and  dangers,  and  a  clear  idea  of  the  remedies  to  be 
applied.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  Ireland  has  been  oppressed 
and  misgoverned,  is  now  in  a  distressing  condition,  and 
something  ought  to  be  done.  The  merit  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  on  this  occasion  was  that  he  defined  what  ought 
to  be  done.  He  said  : 


VICE    PRESIDENT.  387 

"  I  think  this  cause  will  go  farther  than  has  yet  been 
mentioned.  It  will  result  in  just  what  we  have  in  Indi 
ana — a  written  constitution.  Ah,  that  is  what  I  hope  to  see  ! 
Ireland  to  be  governed  by  a  written  constitution,  in  which 
the  Parliament  will  be  restricted  as  our  Legislature  is,  by 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  !  Will  it  not  be  a  grand  surprise 
when  in  the  City  of  Dublin  there  shall  meet  a  Constitu 
tional  Convention  to  form  a  Constitution  for  Ireiand?" 

The  speech  may  be  read  in  full  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  volume.  In  it  Mr.  Hendricks  foreshadowed  the  Home- 
Rule  bill  of  the  great  Premier,  Mr.  Gladstone,  presented 
to  the  Imperial  Parliament  just  seven  months  later,  and 
containing  the  essential  features  of  the  system  which 
must  eventually  prevail  in  Ireland. 

Mr.  Hendricks's  speech  attracted  wide  attention.  The 
British  provincial  papers  severely  condemned  the  Vice 
President  for  siding  with  Mr.  Parnell  in  what  one  of  them 
called  "  a  disloyal  venture,"  claiming  that  on  account  of 
his  official  position  he  should  remain  neutral  in  regard  to 
the  internal  troubles  of  another  nation.  Several  of  the 
Eastern  papers  agreed  in  this  view ;  but  the  London 
press,  not  wishing  to  ventilate  the  views  of  so  eminent  an 
American,  chose  to  ignore  the  speech  entirely.  From 
the  charge  of  impropriety  Mr.  Hendricks  was  amply  vin 
dicated  by  the  Indianapolis  News,  in  the  explanation 
that  Mr.  Parnell  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  striv 
ing  by  constitutional  means  to  accomplish  lawful  ends; 
and  that  it  was  perfectly  proper  for  any  one,  in  official 
position  or  not,  to  express  sympathy  with  him,  and  to 
suggest  that  our  own  institutions  were  a  good  model  for 
him  to  follow. 

The  effect  of  the  speech  in  this  country  was  soon  felt. 
In  January,  1886  a  member  of  the  National  Committee 
of  the  Irish  Land  League  said : 

"  The  Committee  attribute  much  of  the  recent  impetus 
their  movement  has  received  to  Mr.  Hendricks's  speech. 


388  VICE     PRESIDENT. 

Because  he  was  so  generally  criticised  or  commended  for 
it,  all  over  the  country,  the  people  read  it  and  thus  came 
to  a  thorough  understanding,  for  the  first  time,  of  the 
Irish  question.  In  three  months  after  that  speech  the 
Committee  collected  over  $100,000." 

For  the  next  few  weeks,  his  last  upon  earth,  Mr.  Hen- 
dricks  rested  at  home,  giving  many  hours  to  his  friends 
and  to  gentlemen  who  visited  him  to  pay  their  respects 
or  to  enlist  his  aid  in  their  applications  for  office.  He 
was  seen,  also,  now  and  then  with  Mrs.  Hendricks  at 
social  gatherings,  and  seemed  at  last  to  regard  the  hard 
work  of  his  life  as  done,  and  to  have  leisure  and  inclina 
tion  for  enjoyment  and  repose.  From  time  to  time  he 
would  drop  in  at  the  law  office,  and  chat  pleasantly  with 
his  partners  and  the  young  men.  Death  had  already 
made  a  break  in  the  firm,  which  saddened  him  deeply 
whenever  he  entered  the  familiar  rooms.  The  manly  and 
venerable  form  of  Conrad  Baker  was  there  no  more. 
But  the  constant  and  warm  friendship  subsisting  between 
himself  and  his  other  partners,  those  accomplished  gen 
tlemen,  Abram  Hendricks  and  Oscar  B.  Hord,  was  a 
source  of  comfort  and  pleasure  to  him  to  the  last.  He 
read  and  studied  much  at  his  house,  in  the  line  of  prep 
aration  for  his  duties  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate, 
remitting  this  light  labor  often  to  converse  with  his  wife, 
who  during  these  hours  at  home  was  constantly  with  him. 
"  She  is  my  best  friend,"  he  said,  "  and  I  wish  that  she 
may  never  be  separated  from  me  even  for  an  instant." 
And  during  these  days  their  affection  for  each  other 
seemed  to  grow,  if  possible,  deeper  and  tenderer,  their 
withdrawal  from  outward  interests  more  complete,  their 
happiness  more  perfect.  In  the  midst  of  this  period  of 
repose  the  end  came. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"  FREE    AT    LAST." 

The  evening  of  Tuesday ,  November  24th,  the  Vice  Pres 
ident  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  appeared  among  the  throng 
of  guests  at  a  reception  given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
J.  Cooper,  No.  619  North  Pennsylvania  street.  The 
affair  was  a  brilliant  one,  the  host  and  hostess  being 
widely  known  in  political  and  social  circles,  and  the 
rooms  were  crowded  during  the  entire  evening.  Mr. 
Hendricks  had  not  felt  quite  well  that  day,  but  could  not 
resist  his  desire  to  meet  his  Indianapolis  friends  socially 
on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  Washington.  Though 
affable  to  all  who  greeted  him,  he  seemed  less  disposed 
to  converse  than  usual,  and  lingered  in  the  hall  as  if  re 
luctant  to  mingle  with  the  crowd.  Many  persons  noticed 
that  he  looked  a  little  pale,  and  seemed  tired,  but  to  all 
inquiries  about  his  health  he  answered  cheerfully,  and 
would  not  admit  that  he  was  ill.  The  hundreds  who  took 
him  by  the  hand  little  thought  that  that  night  was  his  last 
on  earth.  Mrs.  Hendricks  was  in  good  spirits,  and  her 
presence  filled  the  room  with  cheerfulness. 

After  returning  home,  Mr.  Hendricks  complained  of 
illness,  which  seemed  to  increase  next  morning.  He 
appeared  at  breakfast,  but  retired  immediately  afterward 
to  his  room,  where  he  gradually  grew  worse,  though  no 
serious  danger  was  apprehended  by  his  friends  or  physi 
cian.  His  nephew,  Harry  Morgan,  was  with  him  much 
of  the  day,  and  Mrs.  Hendricks  was  constant  in  her  at 
tentions.  In  the  afternoon  Mr.  Morgan  withdrew,  and 

(389) 


390  "FREE  AT  LAST." 

husband  and  wife  were  for  a  time  alone.  A  call  from  a 
lady  friend  caused  Mrs.  Hendricks  to  descend  for  a  few 
moments  to  the  parlor.  On  her  return,  she  was  gratified 
to  note  that  Mr.  Hendricks  seemed  to  be  asleep.  Alas  ! 
it  was  the  sleep  of  death.  No  look  of  pain  was  upon  the 
beloved  features.  Silently,  peacefully,  the  soul  had  de 
parted.  The  last  remembered  utterance  of  the  dying 
man  was  the  words,  "  I  am  free  at  last !  " — spoken  but  a 
short  time  before  to  the  physician.  Referring  especially 
to  a  pain  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  it  was  true  in  a 
deeper  sense.  The  scene  at  the  stricken  home  can  not 
be  described.  The  mansion  was  soon  filled  with  rela 
tives  and  friends,  and  the  doors  were  closed,  while  hun 
dreds  gathered  near  to  disprove  the  sad  news,  if  possible. 

The  following  day  —  Thursday — was  a  mournful 
Thanksgiving  day  for  Indianapolis,  and  indeed,  for  the 
nation.  Everywhere  the  praise  of  the  dead  statesman 
was  uttered  by  the  clergymen  in  their  annual  addresses. 
It  seemed  the  death  of  a  chief  magistrate  ;  and  the  sorrow 
of  the  people  was  deeper  and  more  wide-spread  than  at 
the  death  of  any  other  Vice  President  in  our  history. 
Telegrams  of  condolence  poured  in  upon  the  family  from 
every  part  of  the  country.  Emblems  of  mourning  shad 
owed  the  public  buildings  everywhere  ;  while  from  the 
Executive  Mansion  at  Washington  to  the  humblest  and 
remotest  cottage,  residences  of  every  class  were  arrayed 
in  the  trappings  and  the  suits  of  woe.  In  front  of  the 
family  mansion  and  almost  under  the  gray  walls  of  the 
magnificent  new  State  House,  a  sentinel  with  measured 
tread  kept  guard.  Meetings  of  citizens  and  of  various  so 
cieties  were  held  in  the  days  immediately  following  the 
sad  Thanksgiving.  Mr.  Mueller,  the  sculptor,  of  Indi 
anapolis,  and  Mr.  Parks,  an  eminent  artist  of  Chicago, 
took  masks  of  the  features  of  the  dead. 

Suitable  notice  was  taken  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  at  Washington  and  throughout  the  country,  and 


"FREE    AT    LAST."  391 

preparations  were  at  once  made  to  pay  honor  to  his  mem 
ory  as  a  statesman  and  an  official.  The  President  an 
nounced  his  intention  to  attend  the  funeral.  Members  of 
the  Cabinet,  Senators,  and  Representatives  prepared  to  be 
present.  City  councils  and  other  municipal  bodies,  civic 
societies,  benevolent  organizations,  and  political  clubs 
appointed  delegations  to  represent  them.  At  Indianapolis 
meetings  of  citizens  were  held  an,d  committees  appointed 
to  attend  to  all  the  details  of  the  occasion.  Oscar  B. 
Hord,  Esq.,  was  made  chairman  of  the  executive  com 
mittee,  and  Major  General  Fred  Knefler  grand  marshal 
of  the  parade.  To  the  skill  of  these  gentlemen  and  their 
assistants,  and  the  ready  aid  of  the  citizens  is  due  the 
•credit  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which  the  vast  popu 
lar  demonstration  was  conducted.  What  their  arrange 
ments  were,  and  how  they  were  carried  out,  will  be 
gathered  from  the  following  descriptions,  which  are  con 
densed  from  the  excellent  reports  of  the  Indianapolis 
newspapers. 

On  Saturday  the  remains  were  prepared  for  the  tomb, 
being  placed  in  a  beautiful  and  costly  casket.  On  Sun 
day  morning,  at  10:15,  they  were  borne  with  suitable 
•escort  to  the  Marion  County  Court  House,  there  to  lie  in 
state  until  Monday  evening. 

*•  o 

This  edifice,  one  of  the  finest  public  buildings  in  the 
West,  was  magnificently  arrayed  in  mourning  for  the 
occasion.  Pendants  of  white  and  black  streamed  down 
the  walls  of  the  great  corridor.  Upon  a  raised  dais  in 
the  main  corridor  stood  the  catafalque,  beneath  a  tall 
canopy  of  black,  whose  apex  was  lost  in  the  hall  above, 
the  curtains  passing  through  the  opening  of  the  floor. 
The  funeral  awning  was  arranged  after  the  manner  of 
the  covering  of  a  military  morgue.  The  casket  was 
placed  in  the  catafalque  and  surrounded  with  floral 
tributes.  At  its  head  stood  two  broken  columns  of  rose 
buds,  smilax  and  ferns,  upon  which  were  perched  two 


392 


FREE    AT    LAST." 


white  doves.  Back  of  these  stood  a  large  floral  design  in 
the  form  of  a  harp,  made  of  rosebuds,  hyacinths  and 
calla  lilies,  sent  by  Patrick  Egan,  President  of  the  Irish 
Land  League  of  America,  in  behalf  of  that  organization. 
Over  the  top  of  the  harp  were  the  words,  "  Erin  Mourns 
Her  Fearless  Advocate,"  and  beneath,  in  white  letters 
on  a  dark  back  ground — 

"  It  is  not  the  tear  at  this  moment  shed, 

When  the  cold  turf  has  just  been  laid  o'er  him, 
That  can  tell  how  beloved  was  the  friend  that  has  fled, 
Or  how  deep  in  our  hearts  we  deplore  him." 

At    the    foot  of  the  casket  were  broken    columns  of 
roses    and    smilax,    surmounted    with    sheaves.      On    it 
rested  the  design  of  a  broken  gavel,  in  violets  on  a  pillow 
of  M arechal  Neil  roses  and  smilax,  while  beside  it  was  a 
basket  of  chrysanthemums,  smilax  and  carnations,  with 
the  letter  "H"  in  immortelles.     A  tribute  from  Madi 
son   county   represented    a   cross   and    crown   made   of 
camelias,    begonias,  chrysanthemums    and    bouvardias, 
while  beside  it  in  a  bed  of  chrysanthemums,  carnations 
and  smilax  was  woven  in  immortelles  "  Free  at  last,"  the 
dying  words  of  the  Vice  President.     The  portrait  of  Mr. 
Hendricks,  painted  for  the  State  Library,  hung  opposite 
the  catafalque,   draped  in  mourning.     It  was  about  u 
o'clock  when  the  casket  was  placed  in  position,  and  the 
Indianapolis    Light    Infantry,   detailed    for  guard   duty 
about  the  catafalque  until  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  took 
up  position,  and  sentinels  were  stationed  at  the  head  and 
foot  of  the  casket,  while  others  paced  with  measured  tread 
along  the  corridor.     The  friends   and  citizens  who  com 
posed  the  escort  were  permitted  to  view  the  remains  be 
fore  the  doors  were  thrown  open  to  the  throng  gathered 
outside.  Only  the  head  and  shoulders  of  the  dead  states 
man  were  visible.    The  body  was  attired  in  evening  dress. 
The  right  arm  rested  on  the  breast  while  the  left  arm  lay 


393 

at  the  side.  The  expression  of  the  face  was  natural,  and 
the  pallor  alone  indicated  that  this  was  not  sleep  but 
death. 

The  doors  of  the  east  entrance  of  the  Court  House 
were  opened  to  the  public  just  before  noon.  As  the  two 
columns  of  people  began  to  file  past  the  catafalque 
the  United  States  military  band  rendered  Breye's  mourn 
ful  "  Reverence."  Between  this  and  u  o'clock  at  night 
no  less  than  30,000  persons  took  a  last  look  at  the  face 
of  the  great  dead. 

At  2  o'clock  the  Maennerchor  Society  was  admitted  to 
the  corridor,  and  sang  a  number  of  selections  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  A  message  was  sent  to  Mrs.  Hendricks 
during  the  afternoon,  informing  her  that  if  she  desired  to 
view  the  remains  of  her  husband  as  they  lay  in  state, 
she  could  be  afforded  an  opportunity  to  do  so  privately. 
She  availed  herself  of  this  offer  and  with  a  few  friends 
and  relatives  went  to  the  Court  House  just  before  9  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  doors  were  closed  to  the  public,  and 
all  who  were  in  the  building  withdrew.  Mrs.  Hendricks 
remained  but  a  short  time,  and  upon  retiring  expressed 
herself  as  well  pleased  with  the  arrangements  that  had 
been  made. 

On  Monday  the  scenes  of  the  previous  day  at  the  Court 
House  were  repeated  on  even  a  larger  scale.  At  the 
Union  Depot  train  after  train  came  in  loaded  with  visitors. 
Up  to  noon  only  about  4,000  people  had  been  brought 
in,  but  the  organized  delegations  and  clubs  and  the  peo 
ple  living  within  easy  reach  of  Indianapolis,  did  not  arrive 
till  the  afternoon  or  evening.  During  the  day  about  75,- 
ooo  people  passed  through  the  Court  House.  Just  before 
noon  Senator  Voorhees  was  admitted  by  the  south  en 
trance  and  paused  by  the  casket  for  a  close  view  of  his 
friend.  He  had  come  with  reluctance,  saying  that  he  pre 
ferred  to  remember  Mr.  Hendricks  as  he  last  knew  him  ; 
but  he  was  surprised  at  the  natural  appearance  of  the 


394  "FREE  AT  LAST." 

face.     "  Perhaps  a  little  paler,  but  remarkably  life-like," 
he  said. 

The  remains  were  moved  from  the  Court  House  to  the 
residence  just  after  4  o'clock.  The  casket  was  placed  in 
the  front  parlor,  which  had  been  decorated  during  the 
day.  One  of  the  most  touching  floral  tributes  was  one 
presented  by  the  ladies  of  Shelbyville,  representing  the 
cabin  in  which  Mr.  Hendricks  lived  in  early  boyhood. 
It  was  made  of  the  finest  roses,  and  on  the  roof  in  white 
buds  was  the  inscription,  in  a  half  circle,  "  Home  of  my 
Boyhood,"  and  underneath  this,  "  Shelbyville."  The 
door  in  the  end  was  partly  open,  and  on  it  hung  a  ban 
ner  of  black  satin,  with  the  words,  "  God's  finger  touched 
him  and  he  slept.  Shelbyville  mourns  her  distinguished 
and  gifted  son."  The  portraits  which  hung  over  the 
mantel  were  appropriately  decorated, — that  of  Mr.  Hen 
dricks  with  a  wreath  of  laurel,  that  of  Mrs.  Hendricks 
with  a  wreath  of  white  roses,  and  that  of  little  Morgan 
with  daisies.  The  doorway  between  the  parlors  was 
draped  with  the  American  flag.  Here,  in  the  quiet  of  his 
home,  lay  the  great  statesman  awaiting  the  last  sad  rites 
of  the  morrow. 

Tuesday  morning  the  gun  at  the  United  States  arsenal 
announced  the  dawn  of  a  new  day.  The  usual  single 
reverberation  was  followed  by  others  at  regular  intervals, 
until  the  prescribed  salute  for  the  dead  Vice  President 
had  been  rendered,  telling  that  it  was  a  day  of  mourning 
for  the  nation. 

As  the  day  advanced  the  number  of  people  in  the  city 
rapidly  increased.  Regular  and  special  trains  discharged 
their  loads  at  the  station,  until  the  streets  were  rendered 
almost  impassable.  All  classes  and  all  ages  were  there 
represented.  They  had  come  to  render  the  homage  due 
to  pre-eminent  ability  and  an  untarnished  name.  The 
throng  surged  back  and  forth  as  if  uncontrolled  by  any 
given  purpose.  One  minor  current,  however,  set  toward 


"FREE    AT    LAST."  395 

and  past  the  mansion  of  the  dead  statesman,  gaining 
force  as  it  neared  the  point  of  interest,  until  on  the  street 
where  the  house  of  mourning  stood  it  became  so  strong 
that,  but  for  the  guard,  passage  of  the  thoroughfare 
would  have  been  impossible.  Civic  organizations  in 
bodies,  in  groups,  or  singly,  moved  toward  their  head 
quarters  or  mingled  in  the  throng.  Officers  in  uniform 
dashed  hither  and  thither,  the  knot  of  crape  at  the  sword 
hilt  or  on  the  arm  eloquent  of  the  occasion. 

The  number  and  character  of  the  visitors  from  abroad 
spoke  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  deceased  was  held  by 
his  countrymen  and  resulted  in  demonstrations  of  respect 
which  for  magnitude  has  seldom  if  ever  been  surpassed 
in  this  country,  certainly  not  at  Indianapolis.  The  fun 
eral  draping  of  the  buildings  of  the  city  was  artistic  and 
appropriate.  Especially  was  this  the  case  with  the  Post 
Office,  the  lower  story  of  which  was  completely  covered 
with  a  pall  of  black,  while  the  entire  effect  can  only  be 
described  by  the  word  massive.  Looking  either  way 
upon  Washington  street  the  scene  was  peculiarly  sombre, 
owing  to  the  profusion  with  which  mourning  emblems 
were  displayed.  It  was  like  looking  down  a  vast  funeral 
corridor,  hardly  a  building  or  even  a  window  being  visi 
ble  which  did  not  bear  some  sign  of  mourning.  But 
these  expressions  of  outward  sorrow  were  not  confined  to 
the  thoroughfares  in  the  central  portion  of  the  city.  Upon 
the  porches  and  in  the  windows  of  private  residences 
elaborate  designs  were  displayed,  while  in  the  most  hum 
ble  cottages  there  was  evidence  that  the  loss  was  appre 
ciated.  Never  did  all  classes  and  conditions  of  people 
more  earnestly  vie  with  each  other  in  doing  honor  to  the 
dead  ;  and  the  bit  of  black  in  the  window  of  the  poorest 
mourner  spoke  as  eloquently  of  sorrow  as  did  the  more 
costly  display  of  the  wealthy. 

As  the  hour  approached  for  taking  the  remains  from 
the  residence  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  the  vicinity  of  the 


396  "FREE    AT    LAST." 

mansion  and  the  intervening  thoroughfares  became 
densely  packed  by  a  throng  whose  solemn  faces  and  tear 
ful  eyes  indicated  the  cause  of  their  assembling.  At 
eleven  o'clock  the  casket  was  borne  to  the  hearse  by 
officers  of  the  police  chosen  for  that  honorable  dutv ; 
they  were  followed  by  the  pall-bearers  ;  the  relatives  and 
friends  took  their  places  in  the  carriages  ;  the  bells  of  the 
city  tolled  their  knell  for  the  dead,  and  the  procession 
started  on  its  sad  journey. 

General  Fred  Knefler,  Chief  Marshal,  and  staff,  and 
Hon.  O.  B.  Hord,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Commit 
tee,  preceded  the  procession,  the  officiating  clergy,  the 
vestry  of  St.  Paul's,  the  hearse,  the  pall-bearers,  the  fam 
ily  and  the  remaining  carriages  following  in  order.  The 
pall-bearers  were  Governor  Isaac  P.  Gray  and  Hon. 
William  H.  English,  General  Thomas  A.  Morris  and 
David  Macy,  Esq.,  Mayor  McMaster  and  Judge  Frederick 
Rand,  Aquilla  Jones,  Esq.,  and  Judge  William  A. 
Woods. 

An  immense  throng  of  people  crowded  the  line  of  march, 
and  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  house  were  filled  with 
spectators.  The  procession,  however,  moved  without 
difficulty,  and  at  10:  50  the  Church  was  reached. 

The  drapings  of  the  interior  of  the  Church  were  simple. 
The  supporting  pillars  on  each  side  were  draped,  and 
festoons  of  black  fell  from  one  to  another.  The  Hen- 
drlcks  pew,  No.  113,  which  is  on  the  north  side  of  the 
center  aisle,  near  the  middle  of.the  Church,  was  draped 
and  closed— touchingly  signifying  the  absence  of  him 
who  had  so  long  occupied  it. 

The  clergymen  who  took  part  in  the  services  were  Rt. 
Rev.  David  Buel  Knickerbacker,  Bishop  of  Indiana  ;  Rev. 
Joseph  S.  Jenckes,  Rector  of  St.  Paul's;  Rev.  Dr. 
Stringfellow,  of  Montgomery,  Ala.,  who  was  rector  of 
the  Church  twenty  years  ago,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Fulton,  of 
St.  Louis. 


"FREE    AT    LAST."  397 

The  ceremonies  were  deeply  impressive.  The  cler 
gymen  met  the  remains  at  the  door,  and  the  words  of 
promise,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  were  pro 
nounced  by  the  Bishop  as,  preceding  the  casket,  they  re 
turned  to  the  chancel.  The  bier  was  placed  without  the 
chancel,  in  the  nave,  fronting  the  center  aisle.  It  was 
covered  with  an  American  flag  wreathed  in  smilax.  Two 
members  of  the  Light  Infantry  stood  at  the  head  and  two 
at  the  foot  of  the  casket.  The  pall-bearers  took  the  seats 
assigned  them.  An  involuntary  murmur  of  sympathy 
arose  as  Mrs.  Hendricks,  upon  the  arm  of  her  brother, 
moved  through  the  center  aisle  and  took  her  seat  in  the 
first  pew  on  the  south  side.  The  reading  went  on,  the 
tolling  of  the  bells  near  and  far  keeping  time  to  the  meas 
ured  words.  Dr.  Jenckes  then  read  the  lesson,  after  which 
the  choir  sang  "  Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  which  in  turn  was 
followed  by  Dr.  Jenckes's  sermon,  on  the  text,  "  Finally, 
brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things 
are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report,  if  there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be 
any  praise,  think  on  these  things." 

The  sermon  was  brief,  occupying  in  its  delivery  just 
seventeen  minutes.  When  the  Rector  came  to  the  con 
cluding  sentence,  in  which  he  bade  farewell  to  his  friend 
and  parishioner,  he  was  overcome  with  grief.  "  Rock  of 
Ages  "  was  then  sung  by  Mrs.  Doney  and  a  quartet.  The 
concluding  prayers  were  by  the  Bishop,  at  the  end  of 
which  came  the  recessional,  the  clergy  leading  the  way. 
They  were  followed  by  the  police  squad  with  the  casket, 
the  Light  Infantry  Guards  and  the  pall-bearers,  after  whom 
came  Mrs.  Hendricks  and  the  relatives,  friends  and  vis 
itors.  The  mournful  procession  moved  slowly  to  the 
strains  of  the  De  Profundis,  and  it  was  twenty  minutes  or 
more  before  the  Church  was  again  empty.  At  five  min- 


398  "FREE    AT    LAST." 

utes  of  i  o'clock  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up,  and  the 
procession  started  for  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Crown 
Hill. 

As  the  funeral  train  was  set  in  motion,  the  various  mili 
tary  divisions  fell  in  with  measured  step,  and  the  carriages 
of  the  many  attending  dignitaries  quietly  and  quickly  as 
sumed  their  appointed  places  in  the  long  line  slowly  un 
coiling  from  the  side  streets,  on  which  the  several  divis 
ions  had  formed.  The  early  winter  sky  was  gray  and 
portentous  of  rain  ;  and,  as  if  nature  were  in  sympathy 
with  saddened  humanity,  a  few  drops  fell  upon  the  pall, 
a  happy  augury,  in  consonance  with  the  poetic  tradition, 
"  Happy  the  dead  that  the  rain  raineth  on."  But  while 
the  sky  was  leaden  and  the  air  was  chilly  and  damp,  the 
world  of  humanity  which  crowded  to  pay  homage  to  the 
memor}^  of  the  dead  was  eager  with  expectancy,  tem 
pered  with  reverence  for  the  occasion  and  respect  for  him 
whose  last  journey  had  begun  in  so  stately  a  manner. 

Along  the  line  of  march,  as  elsewhere  all  over  the  city, 
were  evidences  of  sympathy  on  every  hand.  Flags  were  at 
half-mast  or  furled  and  draped,  windows  were  darkened 
and  porticoes  and  walls  were  festooned  in  black.  Multi 
plied  thousands  thronged  the  sidewalks,  and  faces  were  at 
every  window,  while  the  side  streets  were  blocked  with 
carriages  containing  spectators  intent  on  seeing  the 
pageant.  It  was  so  to  the  city  limits,  a  space  of  nearly  two 
miles. 

On  every  hand  the  interest  was  intense,  and  at  many 
places  the  crowd  was  with  difficulty  pressed  back  to  make 
room  for  the  passage  of  the  advancing  column.  Yonder 
it  stretched,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  down  the  broad, 
smoothly-paved  street ;  two  miles  of  it  was  in  view,  and 
still  it  came — the  mounted  marshals  and  their  aides,  the 
gaily  uniformed  infantry,  zouaves  and  artillery  ;  the  car 
riages  of  the  clergy  and  committees  ;  the  hearse,  wrap 
ped  in  a  splendid  garrison  flag,  drawn  by  horses  capari- 


"FREE    AT    LAST/' 

soned  in  the  same  paraphernalia  that  was  used  at  the 
funeral  of  the  great  commander,  General  Grant.  Fol 
lowing  the  hearse,  the  stricken  widow  and  near  relatives 
and  friends  in  close  carriages  ;  then  the  carriages  of  the 
ex-President,  of  the  Cabinet,  of  the  Congressional  Com 
mittees,  of  Governors,  Judges,  Generals,  Mayors  of  the 
principal  cities,  and  other  dignitaries.  Massed  behind 
these,  four  and  eight  abreast,  various  organizations,  too 
numerous  for  the  observer  to  take  intelligent  cognizance 
of,  and  at  last  the  innumerable  concourse  of  carriages  of 
citizens  and  admiring  friends. 

The  following  is  a  statement  in  detail  of  the  composi 
tion  and  arrangement  of 

THE  PROCESSION. 

Police  Guard. 

Government  Military  Band. 
Grand  Marshal  General  Knefler  and  Staff. 

Chief  of  Staff,  Major  C.  L.  Holstein,  with  twenty-four  aides  of  Chief 
Marshal  and  Six  Orderlies  of  Chief  Marshal. 

FIRST   DIVISION. 

Adjutant  General  Koontz,  commanding  the  Governor's  Staff. 
Home  Star  Band,  Lafayette. 

Richardson  Zouaves. 
Company  C,  First  Regiment,  Lafayette. 

Emmet  Guards. 
DePauw  Cadets,  Greencastle,  two  companies. 

Streight  Rifles. 

Logan  Grays,  Logansport. 

Colonel  J.  A.  Closser,  First  Regiment  Light  Artillery  and  Staff. 

SECOND    DIVISION. 

Edward  Hawkins,  United  States  Marshal,  commanding. 

Chief  of  Staff,  Col.  Charles  E.  Zollinger. 
Fourteen  Aides  of  Marshal  Second  Division. 

Clergy  in  Carriages. 
Church  Vestry  in  Carriages. 

Pall-bearers  in  Carriages. 

Committee  on  Arrangements. 

Committee  on  Reception. 

When  Band. 


400  "FREE    AT    LAST." 

Indianapolis  Light  Infantry. 


5  j? 

o  .       r5 

N 

^          s 

1^ 


Indianapolis  Light  Infantry. 
Family  and  Friends  in  Carriages. 

Ex-President  Hayes. 
The  Cabinet— Secretaries  Bayard,  Whitney,  Lamar,  Endicott,  and 

Postmaster  General  Vilas. 
The  Supreme  Court— Justices  Matthews  and  Blatchford— and  Colonel 

Wilson,  U.  S.  A. 

Senators— G.  F.  Edmunds,  W.  B.  Allison,  J.  L.  Pugh,  I.  G.  Harris,  O. 
D.  Conger,  H.  W.  Blair,  J.  N.  Dolph,  G.  G.  Vest,  D.  W.  Voorhees,  J.  N. 
Camden,  Z.  B.  Vance,  J.  K.  Jones,  H.  B.  Payne,  Benjamin  Harrison  and 
J.  B.  Beck. 

Congressmen— W.  R.  Morrison,  J.  H.  Blount,  H.  A,  Herbert,  W.  S.  Hoi- 
man,  W.  H.  Springer,  W.  P.  Hepburn,  F.  B.  Ward,  W.  W.  Phelps,  J.  L. 
Kleiner,  Thomas  Eyan,  P.  Dunn,  T.  Cable  and  C.  C.  Matson. 

Governor  Hoadly  and  Staff,  of  Ohio. 
Governor  Oglesby,  Ex-Governor  Palmer  and  Attorney  General  Hunt, 

of  Illinois. 
Major  Garland,  of  Springfield;  Major  Orendoreff,  Judge  Phillips  and 

Congressman  Lawler. 
Governor  Proctor  Knott,  and  State  Officers  of  Kentucky. 

Ex-Senators  McDonald,  Fitch  and  Turpie,  of  Indiana. 
Ex-Governor  Bishop,  General  Denver,  General  Durbin  Ward  and  Eevenue 

Collector  Bishop. 
Mayor  Francis  and  Members  of  St.  Louis  Council. 

Common  Council  of  Boston. 
Mayor  Harrison  and  City  Officials  of  Chicago. 

Tammany  Hall  Delegation. 

Professors  of  Purdue  University. 

S.  Corning  Judd,  President  of  the  Iroquis  Club,  and  Party. 

State  Officers  of  Indiana. 
Board  of  Aldermen,  Common  Council  and  City  Officers  of  Indianapolis. 

THIRD     DIVISION. 

Major  James  L.  Mitchell,  Commanding. 
Chief  of  Staff,  Richard  O.  Johnson. 

Twenty-seven  Aides  to  Marshal. 
Cook  County  Democratic  Club,  of  Chicago. 


"FREE    AT    LAST."  401 

Duckworth  Band. 

Duckworth  Club,  of  Cincinnati. 

Thurman  Club,  of  Cincinnati. 

West  End  Democratic  Club,  of  Cincinnati. 

Jefferson  Club  Band. 

Jeflerson  Club,  of  Cincinnati,  Joseph  Bryant,  President. 

Jackson  Club,  of  Columbus,  O. 

Americus  Club,  of  Peoria,  111. 

Great  Western  Band,  of  Dayton. 

Jefferson  Club,  of  Dayton. 

Apollo  Band,  of  Hamilton,  O. 

Miami  Club,  of  Hamilton,  O. 

Ogden's  Light  Guards  Band,  of  Kokomo. 

Kokomo  Uniform  Rank  K.  of  P. 
Indianapolis  Uniform  Rank  K.  of  P. 

Fort  Wayne  City  Band. 

Jefferson  Club,  of  Fort  Wayne. 

Meridian  Hendricks  Club. 

Citizens'  Band,  of  Peru. 

Citizens  of  Peru. 
Indianapolis  Mail  Carriers. 
Special  Delivery  Messengers. 

United  States  Mail  Wagon,  draped  with  flag  and  mourning. 

St.  Franciscan's  Society. 

St.  Joseph's  Society. 

St.  Boniface  Society. 

Societe  Fraternalle  Franfaise. 

Athon  Guards  from  Insane  Hospital. 

Drum  Corps. 
Social  Turnverein. 

Drum  Corps. 

Independent  Turnverein. 

Leiderkranz  Society. 

Swiss  Mrennerchor. 

Emmet's  Cornet  Band. 

Knights  of  Father  Mathew. 

Ancient  Order  Hibernian  Delegations-Logansport,  Louisville,  Richmond 

and  Indianapolis. 

St.  Patrick's  Total  Abstinence  Society 

Knights  of  Labor. 

Irish  Land  League. 

FOURTH    DIVISION. 

William  F.  Christian,  Commanding. 
26  Chief  of  Staff,  S.  K.  Fletcher. 


402  "FREE    AT    LAST." 

Twenty-five  Aides  to  Marshal. 
Indianapolis  Fire  Department,  Chief  Webster,  Commanding 

Carriages  containing  Citizens. 

Chief  Webster  and  Members  Fire  Department. 

'  Fire  Engines  and  Hose  Reels. 

As  the  head  of  the  procession  enters  the  cemetery  a 
battery  from  the  artillery  escort,  which  has  entered  from 
the  west  gate  and  made  its  way  to  the  top  of  Crown  Hilly 
now  fires  a  farewell  salute.  The  recurring  explosions 
wake  the  echoes,  and  between  them  is  heard  the  music 
of  the  advancing  escort.  The  cortege  turns  to  the  left 
and  southward  slowly  makes  its  way  around  the  section 
in  which  the  grave  has  been  prepared. 

Nearly  in  front  of  the  chapel  and  across  the  principal 
avenue  is  the  monument  erected  by  Mr.  Hendricks  in  re 
cent  years.  It  is  a  plain  but  imposing  shaft  of  gray  gran 
ite,  cut  smooth  but  not  polished,  and  bearing  at  its  base, 
in  raised  letters,  the  name  «T.  A.  Hendricks."  On  the 
southwest  side  of  this  shaft  is  the  little  grave  of  the  only 
child,  Morgan,  who,  as  related  on  the  principal  monu 
ment,  was  born  at  Shelby ville,  January  16,  1848,  and  died 
March  10,  1851. 

The  excavation  has  been  lined  throughout  with  smilax 
and  roses  and  lilies.  At  the  bottom  has  been  constructed 
a  marble  vault  to  receive  the  casket,  and  a  marble  slab 
is  provided  to  fit  over  it.  But  all  this  is  masked— there 
is  no  sign  of  earth.  It  is  a  narrow  chamber,  walled  in 
with  flowers  and  scented  with  their  rich  perfume.  The 
high  monument  is  swathed  in  a  garrison  flag,  and  another 
flag  flies  at  half-mast  across  the  roadway.  A  portrait 
of  Mr.  Hendricks,  heavily  framed  in  crape,  looks  directly 
into  the  tomb,  and  a  collection  of  rare  floral  tributes  is 
gathered  about  the  base  of  the  monument.  The  grave 
of  the  little  son  has  been  wrought  into  a  bank  of  flowers, 
with  a  floral  headstone  bearing  the  baby  name,  "  Morgie." 
On  the  bed  of  the  grave,  wrought  in  crimson  flowers  on. 


"FREE    AT    LAST."  403 

a  white  background,  appear  the  significant  words  from 
Ecclesiastes : 

"  And  a  three-fold  cord 
Shall  not  be  broken." 

There  is  scarcely  a  suggestion  of  death,  but  rather  of 
a  joyous  welcome  to  the  guest  approaching. 

While  the  casket  is  borne  to  the  opening,  Mrs.  Hen- 
dricks,  on  the  arm  of  her  brother,  passes  the  grave,  and 
with  anxiouss  eyes  scans  the  interior.  Turning  then,  she 
for  a  moment  bends  over  the  grave  of  her  baby  boy,  dead 
so  many  years.  With  fortitude  borne  of  a  womanly  reso 
lution  to  repress  her  anguish,  she  bears  up  bravely  and 
utters  no  moan.  The  interest  of  the  spectators  is  now  su 
preme,  and  with  bared  heads  under  the  gray  skies  they 
reverently  bow  wnile  the  officiating  clergymen  begin  the 
simple  but  beautiful  burial  service,  familiar  to  all.  "  Man 
that  is  born  of  woman  " — all  have  heard  it ;  and  the  re 
sponse,  "  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death."  The 
Lord's  Prayer,  participated  in  by  people,  an  invocation 
by  the  Bishop,  and  all  is  over. 

The  leaden  clouds  at  this  moment  let  fall  a  few  drops 
of  rain,  which  is  quickly  succeeded  by  a  momentary  sun 
beam  upon  the  assembled  people.  A  happy  circumstance, 
as  if  nature  had  dropped  a  tear  in  sympathy  and  brushed 
it  away  with  a  smile  of  hope.  The  last  words  are  spoken, 
the  casket  is  lifted  from  its  flower-covered  supports  and 
is  lowered  into  the  beautiful  chamber  prepared  for  its  re 
ception.  The  spectators  then  approach,  the  carriages  go 
their  various  ways,  and  the  busy  world  returns  to  its  du 
ties,  while  the  landscape  fades  rapidly  into  the  shadows 
of  night. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE     CONTEMPORARY     ESTIMATE. 

Indianapolis  Sentinel. 

The  spectacle  of  a  leader  of  a  hopeless  minority  gathering  the  scattered 
remnants  of  his  party  from  the  debris  of  defeat  and  the  wreck  in  which 
the  storm  of  Southern  separation  had  left  it,  making  of  these  remnants 
one  of  the  pillars  of  the  State,  retaining  his  popularity  with  his  party  and 
the  respect  of  its  Opposition,  never  losing  the  confidence  of  his  followers, 
and  ever  by  his  genius  increasing  its  influence  and  popularity  until  it 
again  became  dominant, — is  a  spectacle  that  no  other,  among  all  our  lead 
ers,  of  whatever  political  creed,  presented. 

Indianapolis  Journal. 

A  tall  man  was  he  among  the  people,  conspicuous  for  his  abilities.  A 
strong  man  by  the  power  of  his  eloquence  and  the  breadth  of  his  acquire 
ments,  he  won  his  way  in  the  ranks  of  his  party  to  near  its  leadership. 
His  personal  character  was  above  reproach,  and  he  was  approachable— a 
man  of  the  people.  The  American  people  have  been  generous  toward  him  ; 
to-day  its  charity  covers  him  like  a  pall.  The  memories  of  the  war  are 
buried;  the  mistakes  of  the  past  are  not  remembered.  May  the  better 
phases  of  human  nature  that  have  come  to  the  front  at  this  hour  find  due 
appreciation  and  bear  fruit  many  fold. 

New  York  Tribune. 

Of  conciliatory  ways  and  winning  manner,  he  was  probably  the  most 
popular  man  in  his  party,  and  came  the  nearest  to  representing  its  true 
views  and  honest  wishes.  That  fact  alone  had  much  to  do  with  the  re 
peated  defeat  of  his  efforts  to  secure  a  Presidential  nomination,  as  the  time 
had  not  arrived  when  the  Democratic  leaders  saw  the  way  open  to  success 
with  a  candidate  who  professed  no  aims  other  than  those  popular  with  the 

masses  of  the  partv. 

New  York  World. 

An  active,  aggressive  statesman,  strong  in  his  convictions,  Mr.  Hendricks 
naturally  was  honored  by  political  enemies  and  the  hostile  criticism  of 
Republican  organs.  But  no  opponent  could  gainsay  his  ability,  and  no 
assailant  of  his  partisanship  ever  dared  to  question  his  purity  and  hon 
esty.  In  his  long  public  life  he  had  filled  the  highest  posts  of  honor  and 

(404) 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE.  405 

trust  in  his  State,  and  all  but  the  very  highest  in  the  United  States,  and 
he  came  out  of  them  with  a  clean,  unsullied  record  as  public  servant,  and 
with  the  increased  respect,  confidence  and  affection  of  his  party.  The 
higher  the  trust  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  party,  the  more  brilliantly 
shone  the  luster  of  his  Democracy. 

New  York  Sun. 

Adopting  the  Democratic  faith  at  the  beginning  of  his  career,  he  was 
faithful  to  the  last.  There  was  no  eccentricity  and  no  compromise  in  his 
political  ideas.  The  doctrines  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson  were  his  doc 
trines,  and  he  held  fast  to  the  traditional  statesmanship  of  his  party.  He 
belonged  to  the  people,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  Pharisaical  and  Feder 
alist  pretension  which  holds  them  in  distrust  and  contempt.  His  politi 
cal  speeches  were  filled  with  this  spirit,  and  like  his  forensic  arguments, 
commanded  respect  by  their  breadth,  elevation,  and  vigor  of  reasoning, 
and  catholic  comprehensiveness. 

Boston  Globe. 

Governor  Hendricks  was  one  of  God's  noblemen  and,  take  him  all  in 
all,  we  shall  not  see  his  like  again.  He  was  a  man  of  the  people;  he  loved 
his  country,  and  of  his  integrity  of  purpose  and  motive  there  was  no  ques 
tion.  His  manly  way  of  expressing  his  convictions  was  recognized  and 
respected  by  all.  Born  a  man  -and  a  statesman,  he  continued  to  increase 
in  the  affections  of  his  countrymen,  and  he  dies  universally  lamented. 

Boston  Post. 

He  ranks  with  Allen  G.  Thurman  and  Horatio  Seymour  and  Samuel 
J.  Tilden  and  Joseph  E.  McDonald — giants,  all  of  them,  and  men  of  con 
victions.  But  yesterday,  and  Mr.  Hendricks  was  apparently  the  strongest 
of  them  all.  To-day  he  lies  dead  in  his  once  pleasant  home  in  Indiana- 
.polis,  and  the  country  is  without  a  Vice  President.  The  Democracy  has  lost 
one  of  its  most  faithful  and  earnest  and  conscientious  leaders,  and  consti 
tutional  government  one  of  its  ablest  advocates. 

Cincinnati  Sun. 

He  was,  too,  in  all  respects  a  strongman— thoroughly  equipped  by  read 
ing,  study  and  experience  for  the  highest  positions  of  public  life,  and  pos 
sessing  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  Possessing 
a  genius  for  diplomacy  hardly  inferior  to  the  greatest  American  diplomate 
of  modern  times,  Mr.  Seward,  he  was  yet  thoroughly  outspoken  on  all 
questions  of  great  public  interest.  There  was  never  any  doubt  as  to  his 
position.  He  might  be  wrong,  but  he  was  always  frank,  earnest  and  sin 
cere. 

Cincinnati  Enquirer. 

He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  strict  sect.  Pie  was  a  statesman  and  publicist, 
but  he  hewed  his  public  life  to  the  Democratic  line,  and  was  a  fair  illus- 


440G  THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 

tration  of  the  truth  that  parties  are  indispensable  to  our  republican  form 
of  government.  He  was  a  thorough  student  of  affairs  and  a  firm  believer 
in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  swerved  not  to  the  right 
or  left  of  his  party  allegiance. 

Cincinnati  Commercial-Gazette. 

He  was  a  very  gentlemanly  man — calm,  pleasing,  courteous,  persuasive; 
gifted  with  brains  and  information,  intelligence  and  will ;  a  good  lawyer, 
and,  as  a  politician,  one  who  held  in  a  surprising  degree,  through  personal 
magnetism  and  winning  qualities  difficult  to  define,  the  confidence  of  the 
people.  He  said  at  the  Chicago  Convention  that  he  was  there  "  to  speak 
for  a  mighty  State."  He  had  great  power  in  Indiana  ;  and  the  first  serious 
appearance  that  the  Chicago  Convention  of  the  Democracy  had  to  Repub 
lican  observers  was  not  when  Cleveland,  but  when  Hendricks  was  nomi 
nated. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  if  he  had  consented  to.  have  the  "  old 
ticket "  reproduced  by  the  Cincinnati  Convention  of  1880,  the  political 
history  of  the  last  five  years  would  have  been  wonderfully  changed. 

National  Republican,  Washington,  D.  C. 

His  home  life  was  always  bright  and  pure;  the  relations  between  him 
and  the  partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows  were  not  those  of  affection  only, 
but  of  friendship  and  hearty  co-operation1  in  mutual  interests  and  pleas 
ures.  All  who  were  admitted  to  social  intercourse  with  the  Hendricks 
household  carried  thence  a  sweet  and  lasting  impression,  for  they  saw  a 
close  approximation  to  the  ideal  husband  and  wife.  No  man,  however 
high  his  achievements  in  politics  or  statecraft,  can  leave  a  lesson  more 
needed  or  more  useful  than  that  of  absolute  fidelity  to  home. 

St.  Louis  Republican. 

Thomas  A.  Hendricks  died  too  soon  for  his  country,  but  not  too  soon  for 
his  fame.  That  was  completed.  It  was  not  the  creature  of  accident  or  of 
a  combination  of  circumstances,  but  the  natural  and  inevitable  product 
of  long  years  of  arduous  labor,  of  high  responsibilities,  faithfully  and  con 
scientiously  discharged,  of  unflinching  devotion  to  great  principles,  of  pure 
and  ardent  patriotism  which  nothing  could  change  or  chill,  of  an  abiding 
^ense  of  duty  which  hesitated  at  no  sacrifice  of  personal  feeling,  of  a  pub 
lic  and  private  character  without  stain  or  flaw.  He  was  one  of  the  very 
few  American  statesmen  whose  biographers  do  not  have  to  employ  either 
apology  or  explanation  for  public  or  private  action.  Honest  and  honor 
able  from  beginning  to  end  of  his  career,  he  deserved  and  obtained  the 
confidence  and  affection  of  hosts  of  friends  throughout  the  land,  and  the 
fiercest  political  opponent  was  compelled  to  yield  him  the  tribute  of  sin 
cere  respect.  He  had  that  rare  quality  in  these  latter  days— "  the  courage 
of  his  convictions."  Living  through  the  stormiest  period  of  American 
politics,  when  smaller  and  weaker  men  were  content  to  swim  with  the  pop- 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE.  407 

ular  current,  he  never  abated  jot  or  tittle  of  these  convictions,  and  was 
ready  to  proclaim  them  at  any  cost  and  all  hazards. 

Chicago  Times. 

The  Democracy  of  the  West  has  lost  one  of  its  most  capable  leaders, 
the  veteran  of  a  hundred  battle-fields  of  disaster  and  victory.  He  was  one 
about  whose  banner  recruits  and  veterans  would  rally  with  a  volume  and 
enthusiasm  which  could  be  elicited  by  no  other  captain  in  his  adopted  State. 
It  would  have  been  well  could  he  have  outlived  the  present  changeful  and 
stormy  period  incidental  to  a  radical  change  in  the  Administration,  and 
until  such  a  time  as  when  peace  should  have  prevailed,  and  unity  ab 
sorbed  angry  and  warring  elements.  Then  his  actions  would  have  been 
judged  by  their"  merits,  and  not  by  a  sentiment  tinged  by  selfish  motives  or 
animated  by  individual  ambitions. 

Evansville  Courier. 

It  must  be  admitted,  of  the  many  great  names  that  adorn  Indiana's  his 
tory,  that  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  stands  first.  In  honors  no  other  Indi- 
anian  has"  equaled  him,  and  to  his  great  accomplishments  as  a  statesman, 
to  his  achievements  in  his  country's  service,  he  adds  the  adornment  of  a 
spotless  fame.  In  his  private,  as  in  his  public  relations,  there  was  always 
that  kindly,  essence  that  never  flows  from  a  turgid  spring.  His  comely 
manhood  was  a  revelation  of  the  clean  elements  of  which  his  nature  was 
composed.  No  man  was  ever  more  loved  by  the  people  with  whom  he 

communicated. 

Atlanta  Constitution. 

Few  men  had  a  stronger  hold  on  the  affection  of  the  people  than  Hen- 
•dricks.  He  was  a  popular  idol.  He  addressed  himself  always  to  the  peo 
ple  rather  than  to  the  politicians.  He  looked  above  and  beyond  the  head 
of  the  man  who  contested  with  him,  and  addressed  himself  to  the  dim  and 
vast  populace  beyond,  the  hum  of  whose  industry  reached  his  ears  and 
was  music  to  him.  His  real  power  was  with  the  people,  and  he  was  weak 
with  the  men  who  pettifogged.  This  weakness  alone  prevented  his  reach 
ing  the  highest  office  within  the  gift  of  the  American  people. 

MEMORIAL  ADDRESS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

By  Senator  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  January  26,  1886. 

MR.  PRESIDENT:  For  the  eminent  citizen  of  the  Republic  who  lately 
fell  from  his  high  place  among  living  men,  and  who  sleeps  now  in  peace 
and  honor  in  the  bosom  of  the  State  he  loved  and  served,  we  can  do  no 
more  than  has  already  been  done  by  tongue  and  pen,  and  by  every  method 
which  human  affection  can  inspire.  The  heavy  drapery  of  woe  has  dark 
ened  alike  the  public  building,  the  stately  mansion  and  the  doorway  of 
the  humble  home;  the  proud  colors  of  the  Union  have  drooped  at  half 
mast  throughout  the  United  States,  and  in  all  civilized  lands  beneath  the 


408 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 


sun;  eloquence  in  the  forum  and  at  the  sacred  desk  has  paid  its  richest 
tributes  to  his  exalted  abilities  and  to  his  stainless  character;  the  tolling 
bell,  the  mournful  dirge,  the  booming  solemn  minute  gun,  the  mighty  mul 
titude  of  mourners,  have  all  attended  the  funeral  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
and  borne  witness  to  the  deep  love  and  grief  with  which  he  was  lowered 
to  his  last  earthly  abode.  All  the  honors  due  to  the  most  illustrious  dead 
have  been  paid  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Government,  by  the 
authority  of  State  and  by  the  unrestrained  affection  of  the  people. 

In  the  Senate,  however,  we  may  not  be  silent,  even  though  the  cup  of 
honor  to  his  memory  is  full  and  overflowing.  In  this  exalted  theater  of 
action,  here  on  this  brilliantly  lighted  stage,  he  fulfilled  his  last  official 
engagement  and  closed  his  long  and  commanding  public  career.  When 
this  body  adjourned  in  April  last  he  went  out  from  these  walls  to  return 
no  more  forever.  The  chair  to  which  he  had  been  called  by  the  American 
people  was  vacant  when  Senators  gathered  here  again,  and  now  we  briefly 
halt  in  our  weary  march  to  do  honor  to  ourselves,  and  to  benefit  the  liv 
ing,  by  pointing  out  the  attractive  virtues  of  the  dead. 

[Here  followed  an  elegant  review  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Hendricks,  and  an 
appreciative  estimate  of  his  character  and  services,  after  which  the 
speaker  continued:] 

Much  has  been  said  and  written,  and  often  without  wisdom  or  pointr 
on  the  subject  of  leadership  among  men.  No  man  was  ever  a  leader  of  his 
fellow  men  in  a  free  country  by  self  assertion  or  by  a  spirit  of  dictation. 
He  who  controls  the  reason,  convinces  the  judgment,  enlightens  and  satis 
fies  the  conscience,  is  a  leader  of  the  people  mightier  far  than  he  who  re 
lies  on  the  sword.  Strong  argument,  elaborate  research  and  eloquent 
persuasion  have  been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  more  potent  factors  in  the 
world's  long  annals  than  the  gleaming  bayonet  and  the  shotted  cannon. 
By  their  peaceful  but  powerful  instrumentalities  Governor  Hendricks 
won  his  way  to  a  high  and  very  commanding  political  leadership. 

In  his  repeated,  long  sustained  and  severe  contests  in  Indiana  he  al 
ways  led  his  followers  with  consummate  judgment,  perfect  courage,  and  a 
brilliant  display  of  intellectual  force.  Sometimes  on  the  eve  of  a  political 
battle  he  paused  and  weighed  the  issues  at  stake  with  such  care  and  pru 
dence  that  those  who  knew  but  little  of  the  quality  of  his  mind  thought 
he  hesitated  to  go  to  the  front.  Nothing  could  be  more  incorrect  than 
such  a  conclusion.  While  others  were  at  ti'mes  more  aggressive  and  more 
rapid  in  their  decision  at  the  beginning,  yet  none  led  more  boldly,  or 
further  in  advance  when  the  conflict  became  fiercest,  and  when  it  closed 
in  victory  or  in  defeat. 

Governor  Hendricks  was  never  so  strong,  so  magnetic  and  so  irresisti 
ble  as  when  under  assault  or  crowded  in  discussion  by  an  able  antagonist. 
In- joint  debate  before  the  people  from  day  to  day,  and  from  week  to  week,. 
he  has  had  no  superior,  and  rarely  an  equal  in  the  history  of  the  country. 
His  qualities  for  such  an  ordeal  were  of  the  highest  order.  A  self  posses- 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 

sion  never  for  a  moment  disturbed,  a  mental  concentration  no  excitement 
could  shake,  a  memory  of  facts  never  losing  its  grasp,  a  will  which  never 
faltered,  and  a  courage  which  rose  in  the  presence  of  danger  as  certainly 
as  the  mercury  in  the  tube  under  heat,  were  all  his.  Added  to  these  gifts 
and  acquirements  was  a  voice  rich,  musical  and  resonant,  pealing  forth  at 
his  pleasure  like  a  bugle  call  to  action,  or  modulated  into  the  soft,  seduc 
tive  notes  of  the  flute,  wooing  the  affections.  A  high  bred,  classic  face  of 
singular  manly  beauty,  lit  up  by  a  winning  and  genial  expression,  a  large 
head,  with  the  contour  and  expression  of  an  antique  model,  completed  a 
picture  which  was  never  beheld  by  an  audience  without  emotions  of 
delight. 

Five  years  ago  the  unremitting  labors  and  the  incessant  strain  of  more 
than  the  third  of  a  century  caused  the  powerful  and  compact  physical 
constitution  of  Governor  Hendricks  to  put  forth  its  first  signals  of  distress, 
and  to  reel  for  a  time  like  a  disabled  ship  in  the  breakers.  In  the  autumn 
of  1880,  seeking  for  rest  and  surcease  of  toil,  he  visited  that  famous  canon 
of  the  Ozark  Mountains  in  Arkansas,  where  magical  springs  pour  forth 
their  hot  and  healing  waters.  While  there  in  repose  and  apparent  secur 
ity,  the  icy  finger  of  paralysis,  sure  precursor  of  skeleton  death,  touched 
him  with  its  fatal  premonition. 

The  extent  of  his  danger  at  that  time  was  never  known,  except  to  her 
whose  life  was  as  his  own,  and  to  his  physicians,  who  did  not  conceive  it 
their  duty  to  publish  their  patient's  ailments  in  the  newspapers.  He  came 
home,  however,  to  his  beloved  State,  and  again  took  up  his  public  and 
private  duties  with  serenity  and  composure ;  but  he  knew  from  that  time 
forward  that  he  walked  in  the  constant  shadow  of  an  impending  blow. 
Not  a  word  ever  escaped  him  on  the  subject  outside  of  his  domestic  circle. 
No  wail,  nor  murmur,  nor  lament  ever  shook  his  lofty  fortitude  or  passed 
his  lips.  When  two  years  later  he  was  stricken  with  lameness  in  his  foot 
and  informed  that  he  could  rise  no  more  to  take  part  in  the  affairs  of  life,, 
he  was  the  only  party  to  the  scene  unmoved  by  the  great  change  then  ap 
parently  so  near.  He  spoke  of  his  work  as  finished,  and  quietly  waited 
for  the  curtains  which  divide  time  from  eternity  to  be  drawn  aside.  But 
medical  opinion  had  erred ;  and  it  was  reserved  for  him  to  receive  one 
more  promotion  at  the  hands  of  his  countrymen,  to  be  crowned  with  an 
other  and  higher  honor,  and  to  fall  at  last,  when  his  hour  did  come,  within 
a  single  step  of  the  summit  of  human  greatness. 

At  the  Chicago  Convention  in  1884  Governor  Hendricks  made  the  only 
appearance  of  his  life  in  such  a  body.  The  old  familiar  light  was  in  his 
face,  and  his  mental  vision  was  as  clear  and  penetrating  as  ever;  but  he 
was  physically  not  strong,  and  the  prompt,  alert  movement  and  elastic 
tread  which  his  friends  knew  so  well,  were  wanting.  His  presence  in  that 
Convention  was  contagious,  and  the  vast  multitude  shook  the  mighty  am 
phitheater  with  his  name  whenever  he  appeared ;  but  no  exultation  came 
for  a  moment  into  his  look  or  manner.  To  those  near  him  he  simply  ap- 


410  THE    CONTEMPORARY   ESTIMATE. 

peared  to  enjoy  in  a  quiet,  silent  way  the  popular  approval  of  his  long 
and  faithful  services,  under  the  weight  of  which  he  was  then  wearily 
walking  in  the  rich  and  glowing  sunset  of  a  great  and  well  spent  life. 
When  he  was  nominated  for  Vice  President  he  was  seeking  repose  and 
sleep  on  his  bed  at  the  hotel  at  the  close  of  an  exciting  day.  He  did  not 
hear  the  tender  words  and  strains  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne"  break  forth  from 
ten  thousand  voices  at  the  mention  of  his  name,  exclaiming: 

Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ? 

The  effect  of  the  nomination  on  Governor  Hendricks  himself  was  im 
mediate  and  remarkable.  The  position  of  Vice  President  was  one  to 
which  he  had  never  aspired,  nor  were  its  duties  congenial  to  his  talents  or 
tastes.  He  knew  and  accepted  the  fact  that  a  dread  specter  was  hovering 
near  him,  and  liable  to  cast  its  fatal  dart  at  any  moment,  and  more  es 
pecially  in  the  midst  of  labor  and  excitement.  He  had  so  often,  however, 
led  his  party,  and  had  always  so  fully  met  the  expectations  of  his  devoted 
friends  in  Indiana,  that  his  iron  will  at  once  determined  not  to  disappoint 
them  on  the  last  field  where  he  was  to  appear.  His  resolution  seemed  to 
summon  up  all  the  vigor  of  the  best  years  of  his  manhood. 

The  energy  and  activity  he  displayed  were  never  surpassed  in  a  politi 
cal  contest.  He  declared  himself  ready  to  answer  for  his  State  as  he  did 
in  1876,  and  the  response  of  the  people  justified  his  promise  and  his  claim. 
The  brilliant  and  gifted  leader  of  the  Republican  party,  known  in  the  list 
of  the  political  tournament  as  the  Plumed  Knight,  crossed  the  borders  of 
Indiana,  was  welcomed  with  all  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  a  great 
party  long  accustomed  to  national  victories,  made  a  tour  of  the  State  with 
his  banner  full  high  advanced,  inspiring  the  confidence  and  kindling  into 
a  flame  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  those  who  believed  in  his  destiny  and  fol 
lowed  his  star.  As  Mr.  Elaine  closed  his  engagement  in  Indiana  and  drew 
off  to  other  fields,  it  was  determined  that  his  dramatic  and  dazzling  expe 
dition  into  the  West  should  have  its  bold  and  effective  counterpart. 

Governor  Hendricks,  upon  brief  announcement,  passed  rapidly  from 
point  to  point,  and  the  people  rose  up  to  do  him  honor  until  the  whole 
State  seemed  one  vast  continuous  assemblage.  It  was  the  farewell  engage 
ment  on  the  hustings,  and  he  filled  it  like  a  master.  Such  an  ovation  was 
rarely  ever  given  to  hero  or  statesman  in  ancient  or  modern  times,  and  the 
•children  of  this  generation  will  recall  its  scenes  when  they  are  old  men 
and  women  in  the  distant  future. 

But  while  he  moved  in  the  midst  of  these  pageants,  honors  and  allure 
ments,  it  was  known  to  a  chosen  and  silent  few  that  his  mind  and  heart 
dwelt  apart  from  them,  and  were  engaged  with  matters  of  higher  import 
than  those  of  earth.  During  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  he  selected  and 
prepared  the  beautiful  spot  where  he  now  reposes.  He  gave  his  close  per 
sonal  attention  to  the  finish  and  erection  of  the  stately  marble  shaft  which 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE.  411 

tears  his  name  and  marks  his  final  abode.  His  only  child  died  when  but 
three  years  old,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  had  rested  at  the  old  home 
at  Shelbyville. 

As  he  felt  the  evening  shadows  coming  on,  the  strong  man,  the  able 
lawyer,  the  distinguished  Senator,  and  Governor,  and  Vice  President, 
•wished  his  long  lost  little  boy  to  sleep  by  his  side.  He  tenderly  transferred 
the  sacred  dust  from  Shelbyville,  and  when  he  himself  was,  by  loving 
hands,  laid  to  rest,  the  grave  of  a  child  was  observed  close  by  covered  with 
flowers.  At  times  he  visited  this  hallowed  spot  and  lingered  there  while 
his  own  name  was  ringing  with  applause,  or  provoking  fierce  controversy. 
His  thoughts  were  then  far  away,  and  with  deep  emotion  he  gathered  up 
the  broken  links  of  the  past,  and  by  a  faith  that  never  faltered  nor  grew 
•dim,  reunited  them  in  that  high  world  beyond  the  sun,  and  beyond  the 
stars. 

Governor  Hendricks  was  a  believing  and  practical  Christian  all  the 
days  of  his  life.  His  duties  to  the  Church  were  no  more  neglected  nor 
evaded  than  his  duties  to  the  State.  He  held  official  relation  with  both 
but  never  mingled  them.  He  bore  open  and  public  testimony  on  all  proper 
occasions  to  his  reliance  upon  the  teachings  of  Christianity  for  the  ad 
vancement  of  civilization  and  for  the  happiness  of  mankind.  In  his  pri 
vate  life  he  exemplified  the  beautiful  virtues  of  his  religion.  He  was 
much  given  to  charity,  not  merely  in  the  bestowal  of  alms  to  the  poor,  but 
in  the  kindness  of  his  heart  and  the  tolerance  of  his  spirit  toward  all.  He 
obeyed  the  apostolic  injunction  and  lived  in  peace  with  all  men  as  far  as 
it  lay  in  his  power  to  do  so.  He  never  gave  the  first  blow  in  a  personal 
controversy,  and  often  forbore  to  return  those  he  received.  He  loved  his 
neighbors,  and  was  by  them  beloved. 

Sir,  we  shall  see  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  no  more  with  our  mortal  eyes. 
He  is  gone  from  the  high  places  of  earth  to  the  higher  realms  of  immortal 
ity.  He  is  lost  to  the  Senate  Chamber,  to  the  forum,  and  to  home,  and 
friends.  We  will  follow  him;  he  will  return  no  more  to  us.  As  long, 
however,  as  American  history  treasures  up  pure  lives,  and  faithful  public 
services;  as  long  as  public  and  private  virtue,  stainless  and  without  blem 
ish,  is  revered,  so  long  will  his  name  be  cherished  by  the  American  people 
as  an  example  worthy  the  highest  emulation.  Monuments  of  brass  and 
marble  will  lift  their  heads  toward  heaven  in  honor  of  his  fame;  but  a 
monument  more  precious  to  his  memory  and  more  valuable  to  the  world 
has  already  been  founded  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  whom  he  served  so 
long,  so  faithfully,  and  with  such  signal  ability.  In  the  busy  harvest 
time  of  death,  in  the  year  1885,  there  was  gathered  into  eternity  no  nobler 
.spirit,  no  higher  intelligence,  no  fairer  soul. 


412  THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 

THE   PROPOSED  MONUMENT. 

It  was  natural  to  expect  that  the  memory  of  one  so  singularly  beloved, 
by  his  fellow  citizens  as  was  the  late  Vice  President,  would  be  perpetuated 
by  some  permanent  evidence  of  their  esteem  ;  but  the  expression  of  such  a 
desire  was  much  more  prompt  than  is  usually  the  case.  The  subject  was 
freely  discussed  by  the  distinguished  visitors  and  others  in  attendance  on 
the  funeral  ceremonies,  and  scarcely  had  they  departed  ere  it  took  definite 
shape.  In  its  issue  of  Monday,  December  7th,  1885,  the  Indianapolis  Sen 
tinel  editorially  presented  the  matter  asjollows  : 

"  Let  the  life  and  fame  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks  be  attested  by  a  monu 
mental  offering  of  his  fellow  citizens  that  shall  be  in  harmony  with  the 
purity  and  simplicity  of  the  one  and  the  greatness  of  the  other.  From 
every  quarter  of  the  State  and  from  all  over  the  land  comes  the  informa 
tion  that  the  people  await  with  impatience  the  opportunity  to  contribute 
of  their  means  to  the  rearing  of  a  worthy  memorial.  There  should  be  no 
delay.  Funds  will  not  be  lacking.  Suitable  organization  alone  is  neces 
sary  to  insure  the  promptest  possible  erection  of  a  noble  and  adequate 
monument  to  our  revered  dead.  Let  steps  be  taken  at  once  to  secure  the 
unity  of  action  desired." 

As  an  initiatory  step  the  Sentinel  suggested  that  a  few  of  the  well  known 
near  friends  of  the  deceased  should  come  together  forthwith,  and  it  accord 
ingly  requested  Chief  Justice  Niblack,  General  T.  A.  Morris,  and  Messrs. 
Oscar  B.  Hord,  Frederick  Rand,  Volney  T.  Malott,  John  A.  Hoi  man,  and 
David  Turpie  to  meet  at  its  editorial  rooms  that  evening  for  preliminary 
action.  The  gentlemen  named,  after  consultation,  invited  about  forty  of 
the  representative  citizens  of  the  city  and  its  vicinity,  irrespective  of  their 
political  relations,  to  meet  with  them  on  the  following  Thursday  and  fully 
consider  the  proposed  movement. 

A  fully  attended  and  earnest  meeting  was  accordingly  held  on  the  day 
last  named  ;  and  as  the  result  of  lengthy  deliberation  committees  were  ap 
pointed  to  present  a  plan  of  organization  at  a  general  and  public  meeting 
to  be  held  at  the  Federal  Court  Room  on  the  ensuing  Saturday.  The 
committees  reported  to  the  last  named  meeting,  and  their  recommendations 
were  promptly  adopted.  Articles  of  Association  for  the  purpose  of  in 
corporation  were  there  signed  by  a  large  number  of  those  present,  and  on 
the  following  Monday,  December  14th,  the  movement  was  duly  incorpora 
ted  under  the  name  of  "  The  Hendricks  Monument  Association."  The 
officers  elected  were  as  follows  : 

Frederick  Rand,  President ;  Oscar  B.  Hord,  Vice  President ;  Francis  M. 
Churchman,  Treasurer;  John  A.  Holman,  Secretary,  and  Frederick  W. 
Chislett,  Superintendent.  The  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  Associa 
tion  was  vested  in  an  Executive  Committee  (the  officers  being  ex  officio 
members)  of  seven  persons,  as  follows:  Thomas  A.  Morris,  James  H.  Rice, 
Elijah  B.  Martindale,  Charles  Zollinger.  Noble  C.  Butler,  Simon  P.  Sheerin, 


THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE.  413 

and  Edward  Hawkins.  This  committee  elects  the  officers,  and  perpetuates 
itself  by  filling  vacancies.  Every  contributor  to  the  monument  fund  be 
comes  an  honorary  member  of  the  Association,  the  object  of  which  is  de 
clared  to  be  the  erection  of  "  an  appropriate  monument"  to  the  memory 
-of  the  late  Vice  President  at  the  capital  of  Indiana.  All  services  are 
gratuitously  rendered,  and  actual  expenses  alone  are  chargeable  to  the 
fund. 

By  the  time  the  organization  had  been  thus  perfected  the  interest  mani 
fested  throughout  the  country  had  become  so  wide  spread  that  the  Execu 
tive  Committee  felt  called  on  to  issue  a  general  address.  This  document 
emanated  from  representative  citizens  of  the  State,  of  prominence  in  both 
of  the  leading  political  parties,  and  is  so  just  and  graceful  a  tribute  that 
it  is  here  reproduced  : 

"The  distinction  which  was  achieved  by  the  late  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 
as  Governor  of  Indiana,  its  representative  in  the  Senate  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States,  and  as  Vice  President,  his  eminence 
•as  a  statesman  and  a  jurist,  his  conscientious  fidelity  to  every  trust  that 
was  committed  to  him,  the  high  character  that  was  manifested  in  his  dis 
charge  of  every  duty,  and  the  spotless  integrity  of  his  life,  entitle  him  to 
some  permanent  and  substantial  acknowledgment  of  his  public  and  pri 
vate  virtues  which  shall  also  be  an  evidence  to  posterity  of  the  affection 
ate  regard  in  which  he  was  and  still  is  held  by  his  countrymen.  In  order 
that  his  name  and  services  may  be  appropriately  commemorated,  and  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  personally  held  may  have  an  opportunity  for  its 
-expression,  an  association  has  been  organized  and  incorporated  under  the 
name  of  the  Hendricks  Monument  Association,  which  has  for  its  object 
the  erection  of  a  monument  to  his  memory.  Its  officers  and  members,  of 
both  political  parties,  invite  the  co-operation  not  only  of  those  who  ap 
proved  the  means  whereby  he  sought  the  good  of  his  country,  but  equally 
•of  those  who  sought  it  in  other  ways,  and  through  different  methods  and 
instrumentalities  labored  for  a  common  end.  They  invite  the  co-operation 
of  every  lover  of  personal  and  official  probity,  of  every  acquaintance,  ad 
mirer  and  friend  of  the  illustrious  dead." 

The  movement  was  in  every  direction  received  with  conspicuous  favor, 
and  the  press  of  the  country  gave  its  encouragement  without  stint,  the  fol 
lowing  extract  from  the  Philadelphia  Times  of  February  5th  last,  indicating 
the  character  of  the  feeling  entertained  : 

"  The  movement  for  a  national  monument  to  the  late  Vice  President 
Hendricks  seems  to  be  one  of  the  most  spontaneous  of  modern  popular  ef 
forts.  It  is  limited  to  no  section ;  it  is  confined  to  no  political  party.  *  * 
The  centers  of  wealth  can  rear  their  own  monuments  to  whom  they  will ; 
but  Mr.  Hendricks  neither  merits,  nor  can  his  memory  command,  such 
homage.  There  can  be  no  fitting  tribute  to  such  a  man  except  by  the 
spontaneous  action  of  the  people,  and  North  and  South,  East  and  West. 
Rich  and  poor,  should  join  in  erecting  an  imposing  monument  in  the  heart 


414  THE    CONTEMPORARY    ESTIMATE. 

of  the  Great  West,  as  a  tribute  to  honest,  patriotic  and  faithful  states 
manship." 

The  work  in  hand  was  prosecuted  vigorously.  A  local  committee  was 
designated  for  every  county  in  Indiana,  and  co-operation  became  general 
not  only  in  the  State  but  elsewhere.  The  leading  cities  of  the  West  ap 
pointed  committees  from  among  their  most  substantial  residents,  and  in 
the  East,  Washington,  Philadelphia,  New  York  and  Boston  indicated  their 
wish  to  participate  in  the  laudable  work.  Arrangements  were  promptly 
made  whereby  the  mites  of  the  people  could  be  secured,  and  subscription 
sheets  were  within  a  few  weeks  to  be  found  in  every  neighborhood  in  the 
Union.  The  returns  from  these  have  thus  far  been  most  gratifying,  and  the 
fund  raised  in  hand  represents  in  greater  or  less  degree  every  quarter  of 
our  common  country.  The  responses  from  the  cities  have  been  less  prompt, 
and  delayed  by  local  disturbances  and  demands ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  when 
they  are  finally  heard  from,  the  sum  available  will  be  all  that  may  prove 
necessary  to  secure  the  full  success  of  the  movement.  The  Executive 
Committee  feel  that  they  should  have  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  dol 
lars  in  hand  before  proceeding  with  the  selection  of  designs,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  the  fund  ultimately  raised  will  largely  exceed  that  sum. 

As  the  fund  is  still  in  process  of  accumulation,  the  character  of  the  mon 
ument  has  not  yet  been  considered,  although  it  is  probable  that  it  will  em 
brace  a  statue  of  the  Vice  President  of  heroic  size,  with  appropriate 
bas-relief.  The  site,  for  similar  reasons,  has  not  been  chosen,  but  it  is  re 
quired  to  be  within  the  city  of  Indianapolis.  Various  locations  have  been 
suggested,  but  it  is  understood  that  the  State  House  grounds,  University 
Park  and  Governors'  Circle  have  been  chiefly  thought  of  in  this  connection. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  seen  that  the  movement  for  a  monu 
ment  of  appropriate  character  is  being  earnestly  prosecuted,  and  is  in  the 
hands  of  citizens  of  energy  and  character.  A  successful  issue  of  the  un 
dertaking  may  be  confidently  expected,  and  the  day  is  not  distant  when  a 
grateful  people  will  look  with  satisfaction  upon  a  memorial  worthy  the 
fame  and  virtues  of  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 


Selecteb  Speeches  anb  Writings 


(415) 


toerbet  ttjr  nie  §er§  §u  $erjen  fcfjaffen, 
SSenn  e§  eucf)  nt^t  »on  §er§en  ge^t 

— ©  o  e  t  Ij  e. 


( 416 


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!  JSlSir  |    - 


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g  ^.-, 
— i  ttsrsi 


^^^a_iii^iuii 

ds 


SELECTED  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS. 


I.    ON  BANKS  AND  BANKING. 

SPEECH    IN    THE   INDIANA    CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION. 

Masonic  Temple,  Indianapolis,  January  7,  1850. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  detain  the  Convention  by 
giving  my  opinion  on  the  general  subject  of  banking, 
though  before  discussing  to  any  extent  the  systems  of 
banking  proposed  I  will  say  that  I  indorse  the  sentiments 
of  the  gentleman  from  Monroe  as  abstract  truths.  The 
whole  system  of  paper  money  is  a- tax  upon  labor,  pro 
duce  and  commerce.  The  man  who  by  his  labor  causes 
the  earth  to  produce,  and  the  man  who  by  his  labor 
make  those  products  more  useful  to  man,  may  be  termed 
a  public  benefactor.  He  adds  to  the  wealth  of  the  world. 
But  can  you  say  the  same  of  a  man  who  issues  a  bank 
bill? 

Upon  every  dollar  of  paper  money  that  is  in  circula 
tion,  labor  and  commerce  pay  six  per  cent,  per  annum, 
amounting  in  the  course  of  about  sixteen  years  to  a  sum 
equal  to  the  whole  paper  currency — an  annual  tax  upon 
labor  and  commerce  of  one-sixteenth  of  their  proceeds, 
paid  to  a  class  who  produce  nothing,  only  for  the  use  of  a 
paper  currency.  This  is  not  so  direct,  but  it  is  none  the 
less  an  imposition,  an  artificial  burthen  upon  the  produc 
ing  classes,  than  the  system  of  tithes  in  England. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  time  will  yet  come  when  the 
27  (417)  • 


418  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

world  will  look  back  upon  the  system  of  paper  currency 
as  a  monstrous  imposition  and  strange  delusion,  as  we 
now  look  back  upon  the  efforts  of  the  tyrants  of  the  East 
and  the  monarchs  of  England  to  increase  the  wealth  of 
their  empires  and  kingdoms  by  debasing  the  coin. 

But  when  the  question  is  propounded  in  Indiana 
whether  we  shall  have  banks  or  no  banks,  other  and  dif 
ferent  considerations  should  govern  us.  We  are  sur 
rounded  by  States  which  have  banks  of  every  description, 
good,  bad  and  indifferent,  some  of  them  based  upon 
specie,  some  upon  mortgages,  and  others  upon  stocks  of 
States  or  the  United  States  ;  and  if  we  have  no  banks  of 
our  own  we  must  look  to  the  banks  of  other  States  to 
furnish  us  our  currency.  If  we  have  banks  of  our  own, 
we  can  know  something  about  them.  Our  State  officers 
would  have  the  right  to  inspect  their  affairs,  and  the 
people  could  know  their  condition. 

Again,  the  business  of  banking  is  profitable  ;  and  if  we 
are  to  have  paper  money  in  our  midst,  is  it  not  right  that  our 
own  citizens  should  have  the  profit  of  the  business  ?  Suppose 
that  we  use  six  millions  of  dollars  in  the  State  ;  there  is  made 
upon  that  an  annual  profit  of  nearly  $360,000.  Then,  sir, 
are  we  to  rely  upon  other  States  to  furnish  this  currency  ? 
Must  we  depend  upon  Ohio,  New  York,  Kentucky  and 
Michigan?  Shall  we  pay  per  annum  to  these  four  States 
the  sum  of  $360,000  for  the  use  of  their  paper  money? 
If  paper  money  is  nothing,  and  if  for  the  use  of  this  noth 
ing,  compelled  by  the  custom  of  trade,  we  have  to  pay  a 
percentage,  would  we  not  better  pay  it  to  our  own  citizens 
and  retain  the  per  cent,  within  our  borders,  as  a  part  of 
our  currency?  Gentlemen  say  "  no  bank."  Let  them 
go  further  and  propound  the  question  of  no  paper  money 
distinctly  before  us.  If  the  question  is  "no  bank"  and 
no  bank  money,  let  them  state  it  to  the  Convention.  The 
proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Wells,  supported  by 
the  gentleman  from  Allen  (Mr.  Borden),  only  went  half 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  419 

way.  They  propose  that  there  shall  be  no  banking  in 
this  State ;  but  one-half  of  our  present  paper  currency 
comes  from  other  States.  And  will  the  gentlemen  put 
their  mark  right  here,  and  say  that  in  Indiana  we  shall 
have  no  paper  currency  either  issued  within  the  State  or 
coming  from  abroad,  and  that  such  currency  shall  not  be 
circulated  here?  Let  them  propose  such  a  section  as  this 
— "  the  Legislature  shall  not  establish  any  bank  in  the 
State,  but  by  penal  laws  prevent  the  circulation  in  this 
State  of  the  money  of  banks  or  other  States."  How  would 
that  leave  us?  Four-fifths  of  our  currency  is  paper,  and  if 
that  be  suddenly  withdrawn,  we  would  be  left  with  but 
one-fifth  our  present  currency  ;  the  price  of  all  the  prop 
erty  in  the  State  would  be  reduced  to  one-fifth  of  its  pres 
ent  amount,  and  the  wages  of  the  laborer  would  be  re 
duced  in  the  same  proportion.  Sir,  by  reducing  the 
currency,  the  farm  that  now  has  a  market  value  of  one 
thousand  dollars  would  be  reduced  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  and  the  laborer  who  now  gets  one  dollar  per 
day  would  get  but  twenty  cents.  And,  sir,  while  labor 
and  property  would  be  so  reduced  in  price  within  our 
State,  the  price  of  everything  which  we  would  require 
from  without  the  State  would  remain  unchanged,  being 
measured  by  the  foreign  standard  of  value  ;  and  we  would 
continue  in  this  condition,  until  the  holders  of  gold  and 
silver  from  abroad,  induced  by  the  cheapness  of  our  prop 
erty,  should  come  and  purchase  it  at  its  reduced  price 
and  so  bring  money  into  the  State. 

If  gentlemen  desire  to  bring  about  this  result,  let  them 
take  that  stand,  and  not  simply  say  that  we  shall  have  no 
currency  of  our  own,  but  go  further  and  say  that  no  bank 
bills  shall  circulate  as  money  in  the  State. 

But,  sir,  my  own  opinions  in  reference  to  banking  would 
not  govern  me  if  I  knew  that  they  differed  from  the  opin 
ions  of  those  whom  I  represent.  I  propose  to  offer  an 
amendment  to  the  original  section — an  amendment  which 


420  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

does  not  contain  all  the  necessary  restrictions  upon  bank 
ing,  but  only  such  as  should  be  secured  by  constitutional 
provision,  and  which  I  think  expresses  the  views  of  my 
constituents  upon  the  subject  of  banking.  It  is  as  fol 
lows  : 

The  business  of  issuing  bills  or  notes  as  money  shall 
not  be  allowed  unless  the  same  be  provided  by  law,  con 
taining  the  following  provisions : 

1.  The  branches  of  any  bank  that  may  be  established 
shall  be  mutually  responsible  for  each  other's  liabilities 
upon  bills  and  notes  issued  as  money. 

2.  The  General  Assembly  shall  retain  the  right  of  es 
tablishing  such  additional  branches,  under  the  provisions 
of  such  law,  at  such  times  and  places  as  the  business  of 
the  country  may  require. 

3.  The  General  Assembly  shall  retain  the  power  of 
limiting  the  issues  of  any  bank  established  in  the  State. 

4.  The  State  shall  not  be  a  stockholder,  partner  or  de 
positor  in  any  bank  or  branch. 

5.  Each  stockholder  in  any  branch  shall  be  responsi 
ble  for  the  liabilities  thereof  incurred  while  he  continued 
a  stockholder  therein,  in  the  proportion   that  his  stock 
bears  to  the  whole  stock  of  the  branch. 

6.  A  suspension  of  specie  payments  shall  work  a  for 
feiture  of  the  charter  of  the  bank  or  branch  so  suspending. 

7.  No  bank  or  branch  shall,  either  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  charge  or  receive  any  more  interest  upon  moneys 
loaned  than  the  law  for  the  time  being  shall  allow  indi 
viduals  to  charge  or  receive. 

8.  No  notes  or  bills  shall  be  issued  as  money  except 
on  a  specie  basis,  which,  shall  be  paid  in  by  the  stock 
holders  before  any  issues  are  made." 

This  proposes  that  there  should  be  but  one  system  of 
banks  in  the  State.  It  first  proposes  that  the  branches 
of  the  bank  shall  be  mutually  responsible,  not  for  all  the 
debts  of  the  bank,  but  only  for  the  issues  of  each  other. 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  421 

That  provision  is  equitable  and  right.  I  have  thought  it 
right  to  give  to  the  Legislature  the  power  to  establish 
such  additional  branches  as  the  requirements  of  the  coun 
try  may  demand.  It  is  not  right  to  make  one  branch 
responsible  for  the  deposit  business  or  the  exchange  busi 
ness  of  another,  because  this  part  of  the  business  can  not 
be  regulated  and  controlled  by  the  board  of  directors 
representing  all  the  branches,  and  is  not  necessarily  reg 
ulated  by  law.  It  is  the  business  of  issuing  paper  money 
that  we  want  to  regulate.  The  business  of  deposits  is  a 
mere  confidence  or  contract  between  the  depositor  and 
the  banker.  One  branch  could  have  no  control  over  the 
deposit  or  exchange  business  of  another,  but  a  board  of 
directors  representing  the  whole  could  have  the  charge 
and  control  over  the  circulation  ;  and  it  is  right  that  all 
branches  should  be  responsible  for  the  issues  of  each, 
branch  so  far  as  they  could  be  controlled  by  the  whole. 
But  it  would  not  be  right  to  make  them  responsible  be 
yond  their  power  to  control  if  we  allow  the  Legislature 
to  create  additional  branches  without  their  consent.  This 
plan  proposes  a  specie  basis,  and  the  provisions  by  which 
the  note  holder  is  made  secure  are,  first,  the  responsi 
bility  of  each  branch  for  the  notes  issued  by  the  others. 
By  this  provision  the  whole  bank  is  made  responsible 
for  the  issues  of  each  branch  ;  and  it  is  thus  made  the  in 
terest  of  the  bank  to  sustain  itself  and  its  several  branches. 
This  amendment  makes  the  stockholders  in  each  branch 
responsible  for  the  liabilities  of  the  branches,  and  all  the 
branches  mutually  responsible. 

I  know  of  no  question  of  greater  importance  that  can 
come  before  this  convention  than  the  one  now  occupying 
its  attention.  Its  decision  may  not  be  important  to  that 
class  of  traders  who  deal  in  money.  They  make  their 
profits  out  of  the  difference  in  the  value  of  money  at  dif 
ferent  places,  and  the  changes  and  fluctuations  in  its 
value  at  different  times.  And  of  the  greatest  monetary 


422  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

derangements  and  revolutions  they  make  their  largest 
profits.  They  are  wreckers  to  whom  float  the  fragments 
of  the  broken  fortunes  of  ruined  men  in  such  times  as 
these.  But  it  is  widely  different  in  the  commercial  and 
industrial  pursuits  of  the  country.  Their  prosperity  to  a 
great  extent  depends  upon  the  stability  and  permanency 
of  the  currency,  the  standard  by  which  the  labor,  con 
tracts  and  property  of  the  country  are  measured.  If  the 
currency  be  extended  beyond  the  requirements  of  trade 
and  commerce,  labor  and  property  acquire  thereby  an 
artificial  value,  trade  is  stimulated  to  an  unnatural  de 
gree,  and  a  reckless  spirit  of  speculation  obtains,  and  an 
excessive  overtrading  soon  involves  the  traders  and  the 
countrv  in  embarrassments  from  which  relief  can  be  found 
only  in  commercial  revolution  and  universal  bankruptcy. 

But,  sir,  if  the  currency  be  not  proportioned  to  the 
property  and  business  of  the  country,  which  it  is  intended 
to  represent,  labor  does  not  find  employment  nor  an  ade 
quate  reward,  and  produce  finds  no  market.  The  im 
portance  of  this  question  is  greatly  increasing  in  this 
State.  Our  resources  are  being  rapidly  developed,  and 
the  facilities  for  getting  our  surplus  produce  to  market 
are  rapidly  increasing  ;  and  if  a  good  currency  be  furn 
ished  to  Indiana,  wealth  and  prosperity  will  as  surely 
reward  the  labors  of  our  great  producing  class  as  that 
the  rain  and  sunshine  fall  upon  the  earth. 

I  desire  here,  Mr.  President,  to  notice  some  objections 
that  have  been  urged  to  a  State  bank.  I  am  not  the  advo 
cate  of  a  State  bank  as  defined  by  the  gentleman  from 
Monroe  [Mr.  Foster],  nor  would  I  support  a  bank  consti 
tuted  just  as  our  present  bank  is.  I  am  not  in  favor  of 
any  institution  of  the  sort  in  which  the  State  shall  be  a 
partner.  I  desire  no  connection  in  interest  of  State  and 
banks. 

It  is  said,  Mr.  President,  that  a  State  bank  may  and 
will  have  its  favorites.  Admit  it.  Does  any  gentleman 


• 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  423 

believe  that  if  a  system  of  free  banking  were  adopted 
those  having  capital  to  invest  in  such  banking  would  not 
also  have  their  favorites?  Under  that  system,  one  very 
wealthy  man  by  his  bank  might  control  the  currency  of 
a  whole  section,  and  decide  who  should  and  who  should 
not  have  money  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  It  is  different, 
however,  with  a  State  bank.  A  board  of  directors,  a 
number  of  men  selected  by  the  stockholders,  control  the 
issues,  and  decide  whose  note  shall  be  discounted  and 
who  shall  have  the  money. 

Mr.  President,  I  will  not  disguise  the  fact  that  our 
State  bank  has  favored  one  interest  in  the  country  to  a 
greater  extent  than  others.  She  has  loaned  her  money 
to  the  farmers  of  the  country  to  enable  them  to  buy  and 
feed  stock,  and  to  the  produce  and  stock  dealers  to  en 
able  them  to  buy  the  grain,  the  hogs  and  the  cattle  of  the 
country,  instead  of  loaning  it  to  merchants  and  specula 
tors.  By  this  policy  she  has  kept  her  money  out  upon 
short  loans,  and  upon  certain  time,  but  has  incurred  the 
violent  opposition  of  those  who  would  like  to  be  her  fav 
orites — merchants  who  would  desire  to  do  business  upon 
a  borrowed  capital,  and  speculators. 

Sir,  while  I  admit  that  the  present  bank  has  favored 
this  interest,  I  say  that  the  objection  of  favoritism  of  par 
ticular  individuals  will  apply  with  greater  force  to  the 
free  banking  system  than  to  a  system  of  branches  mu 
tually  responsible  and  controlled  by  a  board  of  directors. 

Gentlemen  have  objected  that  the  State  Bank  has  been 
in  the  habit  of  charging  more  than  the  lawful  interest  on 
money  by  doing  its  business  through  the  medium  of  bills 
of  exchange.  Now  I  ask  if  this  objection  may  not  equally 
be  made  to  the  system  of  free  banking?  And  whether  it 
is  not  as  easy  to  prevent  the  abuse  of  power  on  the  part 
of  a  State  Bank  as  on  the  part  of  independent  banks? 

Again,  sir,  it  is  objected  that  the  State  Bank  is  a  mo 
nopoly.  I  agree  with  gentlemen  who  have  spoken  upon 


424 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 


this  subject,  that  all  banks  are    to  a  certain  extent    mo 
nopolies  ;  and  the  question  for  us  to  consider  is,  which  is 
the  greater  monopoly?     If  we  are  to  establish  banking  at 
all,  we  ought  to  establish  such  a  system  as  will  answer 
the  purposes  of  the  country  and  be  the  least  obnoxious  to 
the  charge  of  being  a  monopoly.     The  honorable  Chair 
man  of  the  Committee  on  Banking  told  us  the  other  day 
that  the  paper  currency  of  this  State  is  between  six  and 
seven  millions  of  dollars.     One  proposition  is  that  this  six 
millions  of  dollars  shall  be  furnished  by  a  combination  of 
branches  mutually  responsible,  and  the  other  that  it  shall 
be  furnished  by  independent,  irresponsible  banks  based 
upon  stocks.     Now,  sir,  that  system  is  the  least  of  a  mo 
nopoly,   the  benefit   of  which    can    be    enjoyed   by  the 
greatest    number  of  the  citizens.     Gentlemen  obiect  to 
mortgages  of  land  being  made  a  basis  for  banking,  and 
in  this  I  agree  with  them,  that  it  would  not  be  a  sufficient 
basis,  and  that  it  would  be  very  unfortunate  so  to  encum 
ber  the  freeholds  of  the  country.     Stocks,  or  State  in 
debtedness,  is  then  the  only  basis  proposed. ,  These  stocks 
are  not  held  by  citizens  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  but  by 
New  York   and  foreign  bankers  and  stock  jobbers.    The 
bonds  of  the  State  of  Indiana  are  one  thousand   dollars 
each,  and  as  soon  as  they  are  made  a  basis  for  banking  they 
become  worth  in   the  market  the   full  amount  -for  which 
they  are  drawn. 

To  procure  such  a  basis  for  banking,  a  citizen  of  this 
State  must  have  at  least  one  thousand  dollars  ;  and  the 
man  who  may  have  twenty-five  or  fifty  dollars  unem 
ployed  is  by  this  system  deprived  of  the  privilege  of 
banking,  not  being  able  to  buy  a  single  bond  as  a  basis. 
Thus  none  but  the  wealthy  capitalist  can  be  a  banker.  ' 
But,  sir,  if  our  own  citizens  become  bankers  under  this 
system,  how  is  the  currency  affected?  To  procure  the 
bonds  to  bank  upon,  they  must  take  from  our  circulation 
an  amount  equal  to  the  value  of  the  bonds,  and  upon  these 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  425 

bonds  they  issue  bank  bills  equal  to  their  value.  By  this 
process  the  currency  is  not  increased,  but  a  very  inferior 
one  supplied.  In  addition  to  this,  the  banker  would  re 
quire  in  his  vaults  an  amount  of  gold  and  silver  for  the 
purpose  of  redeeming  his  bills  when  presented,  equal  to 
one-third  of  his  circulation.  If  citizens  of  this  State  buy 
bonds  as  a  basis  for  banking,  and  issue  dollar  for  dollar, 
our  currency  will  be  reduced  one-third.  Sir,  this  can 
never  be  our  system  of  banking  ;  our  citizens  can  never 
avail  themselves  of  its  advantages.  It  is  a  monopoly,  a 
monstrous  monopoly,  in  favor  of  bankers,  brokers  and 
sharpers  of  New  York,  London  and  Amsterdam. 

But  in  a  State  Bank,  based  upon  specie,  with  branches 
mutually  responsible,  the  stock  may  be  divided  into  shares 
of  twenty-five  or  fifty  dollars,  so  that  all  classes  of  the  com 
munity  may  invest  their  money  in  stock  and  enjoy  the 
profits  thereof.  And  upon  the  establishment  of  a  branch 
in  any  county,  the  farmer,  the  mechanic,  or  the  day  la 
borer  having  fifty,  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  dollars  un 
employed,  may  take  stock  as  he  may  desire. 

The  gentleman  from  Tippecanoe  [Mr.  Pettit]  said  that 
he  desired  to  see  all  citizens  placed  upon  an  equality,  with 
the  same  right  and  privileges.  Let  us  examine  the  gen 
tleman's  position.  He  is  in  favor  of  independent  banks, 
based  upon  stocks,  endorsing  the  plan  advocated  by  the 
gentleman  from  Cass  [Mr.  Biddle]. 

Indiana  will  have  in  the  year  1857,  when  our  present 
bank  charter  expires,  between  five  and  six  millions  of 
bonds  outstanding,  which  are  to  be  made  the  basis  of  the 
proposed  system  of  free  banking.  Under  the  present  law 
they  wrill  bear  five  per  cent. ;  but  gentlemen  say  that  they 
shall  be  duplicated  by  the  issue  of  paper  to  their  full 
amount  in  value,  and  thus  they  cease  to  be  five  per  cent, 
and  become  eleven  per  cent,  bonds.  The  capitalist  who 
wishes  to  make  a  permanent  investment  of  his  money 
could  not  make  a  better  investment  than  in  these  eleven 


426  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

per  cent,  bonds  ;  and  of  course  these  bonds  will  not  be 
in  market,  but  will  be  used  by  the  holders  for  banking 
upon. 

MR.  BIDDLE — If  the  gentleman  from  Shelby  alludes  to 
me,  he  is  mistaken.  I  do  not  propose  that  bills  shall  draw 
interest. 

MR.  HENDRICKS — But  if  a  banker  loans  his  bills,  he 
will  take  from  the  borrower  a  note  which  will  draw  six 
per  cent,  interest,  which,  with  five  per  cent,  he  will  re 
ceive  from  the  State,  will  make  eleven  per  cent.  Then  I 
ask  the  gentleman  from  Tippecanoe  where  is  the  monop 
oly?  Under  this  free  banking  system,  our  citizens  are  cut 
out  from  all  privileges  of  banking,  while  the  foreign 
bankers  or  bond  holders  or  sharpers  may  come  here  and 
do  all  our  banking  business,  enjoying  the  monopoly  and 
receiving  all  of  its  profits. 

Now,  sir,  if  we  have  a  currency  of  six  millions  in  this 
State,  what  is  the  profit  upon  it?  At  six  per  cent,  it  will 
be  $360,000.  This  sum  under  a  State  Bank  would  go  to 
our  own  citizens,  while  under  the  free  bank  system  it 
must  necessarily  go  to  those  foreigners  who  happen  to 
hold  our  bonds.  Mr.  President,  do  gentlemen  desire  such 
a  result  as  this?  Do  they  wish  to  build  up  such  a  mo 
nopoly  in  Indiana? — a  monopoly  not  in  favor  of  our  own 
citizens,  but  of  foreign  capitalists?  Sir,  many  of  these 
bonds  were  bought  up  at  from  18  to  30  cents  on  the  dol 
lar,  by  the  present  holders.  A  few  years  since  they  sent 
an  agent  to  our  Legislature,  who  made  a  bargain  by  which 
he  got  for  them  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal  for  the  one- 
half,  and  bonds  for  the  residue  soon  to  draw  five  per  cent. 
He  thought  he  made  a  good  bargain  for  the  bond  hold 
ers,  a  bargain  which  they  have  since  accepted.  That 
same  distinguished  agent  is  now  in  this  city  ;  and  if  this 
Convention  should  make  these  bonds  a  basis  for  banking, 
and  thus  raise  the  interest  upon  them  from  five  to  eleven 
per  cent.,  it  would  be  the  best  bargain  which  the  bond 


OX    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  427 

holders  have  made  off  the  State  yet.  Whether  this  dis 
tinguished  agent  has  any  connection  with  this  free  bank 
ing  system,  I  do  not  know  ;  but 

MR.  COOKERLY  (interposing) — If  the  gentleman  from 
Shelby  will  allow  me,  I  would  inform  him  that  Mr.  But 
ler  has  been  in  the  city  every  winter,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  his  report. 

MR.  HENDRICKS — Yes ;  but  Mr.  Butler  came  very 
•early  this  year  ;  in  good  time,  no  doubt,  to  do  all  his  busi 
ness. 

MR.  COOKERLY — No,  sir. 

THE  PRESIDENT — Order.  The  gentleman  from  Shelby 
has  the  floor. 

MR.  HENDRICKS — I  do  not  propose,  Mr.  President,  to 
follo\v  this  argument  any  further  in  regard  to  the  question 
of  which  system  is  the  greater  monopoly.  I  thought  I 
would  answer  the  very  patriotic  remarks  of  the  gentleman 
from  Tippecanoe.  He  proposes  that  all  our  citizens  shall 
stand  upon  the  same  platform  of  political  equality.  Very 
well.  So  far  as  our  citizens  are  concerned  with  the  free 
banking  system,  they  would  stand  upon  an  equality ;  but 
a  good  deal  above  them  in  point  of  privilege,  would  stand 
the  banker  of  New  York  or  London  or  Amsterdam. 

But,  sir,  gentlemen  say  that  this  free  banking  system  is 
the  only  safe  one  for  the  bill  holder.  Now,  I  deny  that 
this  system  makes  the  bill  holder  safe,  much  less  the  de 
positor.  No  plan  that  has  yet  been  proposed  secures  the 
depositor.  The  gentleman  from  Posey  [Mr.  Owen] 
adopted  precisely  the  plan  of  the  gentleman  from  Laporte. 
They  propose  to  issue  dollar  for  dollar  in  value  of  the 
stocks  deposited.  Then,  sir,  let  me  ask  what  security 
has  the  depositor?  None,  sir,  except  the  solvency  of  the 
banker  himself.  Upon  what,  then,  does  the  security  of 
the  bill  holder  rest?  Upon  two  things.  First,  that  the 
Auditor  of  State,  to  whom  is  confided  the  whole  banking 
business  of  the  State,  should  be  a  faithful  public  servant. 


428  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

Sir,  I  do  not  believe  much  in  the  doctrine  of  bribery,  as 
preached  so  frequently.  I  never  like  to  hear  much  said 
of  it  in  deliberative  bodies  elsewhere,  and  much  less  in 
the  State  of  Indiana.  But  the  gentleman  [Mr.  Owen] 
said  that,  when  the  State  Bank  comes  to  the  Legislature 
with  her  five  millions  of  dollars,  a  greater  power  would 
be  exercised  than  if  a  steel  clad  army  were  surrounding 
our  halls  of  legislation.  Then,  sir,  according  to  the  same 
argument,  the  bond  holders  of  the  East  may  come  here 
with  the  power  of  six  millions  of  dollars.  With  this  power 
of  gold,  they  may  approach  the  Auditor  of  State,  who  is 
but  one  frail,  feeble  man,  and  demand  of  him  that  he 
shall  cover  up  their  frauds — that  he  shall  issue  more  than 
dollar  for  dollar  upon  their  stocks — that  he  shall  not  reg 
ister  all  the  bills  that  are  issued  ;  and  if  five  millions  of 
dollars  in  the  hands  of  the  State  Bank  would  be  enough 
to  corrupt  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  I  ask  what  would 
be  the  influence  of  six  millions  upon  one  man?  You  say, 
then,  that  we  are  to  trust  to  the  fidelity  of  one  man  for 
the  safety  of  our  currency.  Now,  sir,  in  the  second  place, 
you  have  not  only  to  trust  to  the  fidelity  of  one  man — a 
sworn  officer,  it  is  true — instead  of  the  whole  Legislature, 
but  you  have  also  to  trust  that  the  bonds  shall  not  de 
preciate  in  the  market. 

THE  PRESIDENT — The  chair  must  inform  the  gentle 
man  from  Shelby  that  his  half  hour  has  expired. 

On  motion,  the  rule  was  suspended. 

MR.  HENDRICKS — Then,  Mr.  President,  I  assert  in  the 
second  place  that,  upon  the  stability  of  bonds  in  the-mar- 
ket  would  depend  the  security  of  the  whole  currency  of 
the  State  of  Indiana.  No\v,  what  sort  of  a  basis  is  this 
to  rest  upon?  Shall  we  turn  back,  for  the  last  fifteen 
years,  and  judge  of  the  future  by  the  past?  The  gentle 
man  from  Cass  [Mr.  Biddle]  said  that  these  bonds  were 
predicated  upon  the  wealth  and  labor  of  all  the  people 
of  the  State.  Sir,  let  me  ask,  was  not  that  equally  the 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  429 

case  eight  or  ten  years  ago  as  it  is  now?  And  yet  our 
bonds,  depending  upon  the  labor  and  wealth  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  fell  in  the  market  to  eighteen  cents  on  the 
dollar;  and  for  what  reasons?  We  all  know,  sir,  that 
reasons  can  be  given  now,  it  being  past,  though  they  could 
not  be  given  before  ;  and  if  we  may  judge  of  the  future 
by  the  past,  the  same  thing  may  happen  again  ;  for  there 
is  no  property  more  fluctuating  in  the  market  than  these 
stocks ;  and  yet  this  fluctuating  security  is  to  be  made 
the  basis  of  that  which  ought  to  be  the  most  stable  of  all 
things  in  the  country — the  currency.  And  yet,  in  oppo 
sition  to  past  experience,  gentlemen  say  that  banks  based 
on  such  security  can  not  fail — that  the  bill  holder  is  nec 
essarily  secure.  Now,  what  is  the  theory  of  this  system? 
Why,  sir,  it  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  making  debt  the 
basis  of  debt.  Because  the  State  in  its  corporate  capacity 
owes  a  debt,  therefore  this  debt  may  be  made  the  basis 
of  other  debts  innumerable.  We  are  to  judge  of  the 
future  by  the  past,  and  what  is  it?  Out  of  a  hundred  and 
thirty-nine  banks  established  upon  this  system  in  New 
York,  how  many  have  failed  and  what  have  they  paid? 
Fifty-one  of  them  have  failed,  more  than  thirty-five  per 
cent.,  in  the  short  period  of  ten  years,  and  that,  too,  with 
out  any  commercial  crisis.  It  is  no  \vonder,  then,  that 
the  State  Bank  had  to  close  her  doors  in  1837,  '8  and  '9. 
The  banks  of  other  States  refused  to  meet  the  demands 
which  our  bank  had  upon  them,  and  in  this  ruinous  crisis, 
which  involved  all  the  banks  of  the  Union,  ours  also 
closed.  But  has  she  ever  closed  or  failed  to  pay  a  dol 
lar  when  there  was  no  crisis?  No,  sir.  Then  I  say,  sir, 
that  in  times  when  there  was  no  crisis  over  thirty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  banks  founded  on  the  system  which  is  advo 
cated  here  have  failed,  as  shown  by  the  authority  read 
this  morning  by  the  gentleman  from  Vanderburg  (Mr. 
Lockhart)  ;  and  yet  gentlemen  say  that  the  experiment 
has  been  triumphant.  Sir,  if  this  is  accounted  a  triumph, 


430  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

I  do  not  know  what  can  be  regarded  as  a  failure.  The 
gentleman  from  Posey  (Mr.  Owen)  told  us  the  system 
had  "failed." 

A  VOICE — No,  sir. 

MR.  HENDRICKS— Yes,  sir  :  he  used  the  word  "  failed." 
He  said  that  the  failure  of  the  free  banking  system  in 
the  State  of  New  York  was  owing  to  two  circumstances: 
First,  that  real  estate  was  made  the  basis  ;  and  secondly, 
that  the  State  bonds,  other  than  those  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  had  also  been  made  the  basis  of  banking. 

MR.  OWEN — If  the  gentleman  from  Shelby  will  allow 
me  to  interrupt  him  for  a  moment  I  will  explain  what  I 
said.  What  I  said  was,  that  an  objection  which  I  had  to 
the  New  York  system  was.  that  mortgages  on  real  estate 
were  taken  as  security.  I  spoke  nothing  of  failure. 

MR.  HENDRICKS— All  right ;  I  suppose  that  if  the  gen 
tleman  had  reflected  for  a  moment  he  would  not  have 
used  the  word.  But  the  gentleman,  among  other  causes, 
attributes  the  thirty-five  failures  to  the  fact  that  their  cur 
rency  was  based  upon  bonds  other  than  those  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  Now,  let  us  examine  this  matter  for  a 
moment.  Suppose  that  they  had  had  United  States  bonds 
or  bonds  of  the  State  of  New  York  as  a  basis  when  the 
run  was  made  upon  them,  could  they  have  made  these 
bonds  available  for  the  redemption  of  their  notes?  No, 
sir ;  this  fund  is  only  available  after  the  failure.  When 
the  banker  has  failed  to  redeem  his  notes  then  this  dead 
fund  in  the  hands  of  the  comptroller  may  be  made  avail 
able.  But  let  us  examine  this  matter  a  little  further.  By 
the  report  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  State  of  New  York 
(Mr.  Fillmore),  in  1848,  we  find  that  of  the  ten  millions 
invested  as  a  basis  for  banking,  seven  millions  six  hun 
dred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars  of  it  was  in 
stocks  of  the  State  of  New  York — a  pretty  fair  propor 
tion  of  what  the  gentleman  from  Posey  (Mr.  Owen) 
claims  as  a  good  basis.  Of  United  States  and  other 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  .      431 

stocks  there  was  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dol 
lars,  and  of  real  estate  about  one  million  five  hundred 
and  fourteen  thousand  dollars  ;  and  yet  the  gentleman 
from  Posey  attributes  the  failure  mainly  to  the  fact  of 
having  this  small  proportion  of  their  securities  in  real 
estate.  Sir,  the  great  basis  of  banking  in  New  York 
upon  this  system  has  been  upon  the  bonds  of  that  State. 

But  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Convention  to 
one  other  circumstance.  Free  banking  was  established — 
that  is,  the  law  providing  for  it  was  passed — in  the  State 
of  New  York  in  the  year  1838.  Immediately  it  was  fol 
lowed  by  a  fall  in  the  market  value  of  State  stocks  ;  and 
from  the  year  1839  to  J^44  most  °f  tne  ^ree  banks  were 
established  in  New  York.  The  stocks  were  appraised, 
and  on  their  appraised  value  they  were  made  the  basis  of 
banking.  Then,  sir,  we  have  these  banks  established  at 
a  time  when  stocks  are  very  low  in  the  market.  The 
issues  are  made  upon  this  basis  ;  the  bonds  rise  in  the 
market;  and  yet,  when  the  banks  fail,  and  the  system 
has  been  tested  by  putting  up  these  bonds  at  forced  sale, 
they  failed  to  realize  more  than  seventy-six  cents  on  the 
dollar,  according  to  the  authority  read  by  the  gentleman 
from  Vanderburg  (Mr.  Lockhart). 

Now  I  ask,  gentlemen,  to  consider  this:  Suppose, 
when  everything  is  prosperous  and  currency  plenty, 
and  stocks  high  in  market,  and  at  this  high  rate  they  are 
made  the  basis  of  banking  ;  that  a  crisis  should  come 
upon  the  country,  money  be  scarce,  and  stocks  fall ;  what 
will  be  the  result?  Certain  insolvency.  If  they  fail  in 
the  fair  weather,  what  will  they  do  in  the  storm?  If  the 
appraisement  be  made  when  stocks  are  high,  and  the 
issues  are  made  upon  that  appraisement,  and  a  crisis 
comes  upon  the  country,  and  these  stocks  are  put  into 
market  when  they  are  not  in  demand,  and  money  is  scarce, 
and  all  the  funds  of  the  country  are  required  to  carry  on 
the  ordinary  business  of  the  country  ;  I  ask  gentlemen  to 


432  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

answer  me,  under  all  these  circumstances  (which  every 
one  will  admit  may  happen)  what  will  be  the  return  to 
the  bill  holder?  If  the  appraisement  is  made  when  stocks 
are  low,  and  but  seventy-six  cents  on  the  dollar  are  real 
ized  upon  them  ;  what  will  be  the  result  when  the  stocks 
are  appraised  at  their  highest  value,  and  then  forced 
into  market  when  a  commercial  crisis  has  reduced  them 
to  a  value  almost  nominal?  There  can  be  but  one  result. 
In  all  probability  the  security  would  not  be  worth  twenty 
cents  on  the  dollar.  What  then  is  to  sustain  this  banking 
system?  What  strength  has  it?  Gentlemen  go  upon  the 
hypothesis  that  if  you  secure  the  bill  holder  it  is  all  the 
Government  ought  to  do.  Sir,  I  contend  that  is  not  one- 
half  of  the  duty  of  the  Government.  Who  suffers  when 
a  bank  fails?  Who  loses  when  there  is  a  derangement  in 
the  currency?  Not  the  bill  holder  alone,  but  everyone 
interested  in  labor  and  produce  and  commerce.  The 
whole  internal  interests  of  the  country  are  involved  in  such 
a  crisis  ;  and  yet  gentlemen  say  that  it  is  enough  to  se 
cure  the  bill  holder.  In  the  crisis  of  1837,  wno  suffered 
the  most?  The  men  who  held  the  bills?  No,  sir;  their 
loss  was  not  a  tithe  of  the  loss  that  the  country  sustained. 
The  loss  is  in  having  the  labor,  the  commerce,  and  the 
business  of  the  whole  country  deranged,  paralyzed  ;  leav 
ing  labor  without  employment,  and  produce  without  a 
market.  There,  sir,  is  the  loss,  and  not  merely  to  the 
man  who  happens  to  hold  a  few  of  the  notes  of  a  failing 
bank. 

Then,  sir,  I  say  that  the  security  of  the  bill  holder  is 
not  sufficient.  Suppose  that  you  establish  a  free  banking 
system,  and  make  as  a  basis  ten  millions  of  stocks  ;  and 
that  in  the  course  often  years  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
banks  fail  as  they  did  in  New  York,  and  that  their  currency 
is  unexpectedly  withdrawn  from  the  country?  What  is  the 
result?  Why,  sir,  the  price  of  labor  must  come  down 
thirty-three  per  cent.  ;  and  the  produce  of  labor  must  fall 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  433 

in  like  proportion  ;  and  all  the  property  of  the  country  must 
suffer  a  similar  depreciation  in  value.  And  so  it  will  ever 
be  if  we  rely  upon  this  system  for  our  internal  currency.  But 
what  is  there  in  this  free  banking  system  to  make  it  safe? 
It  is  not  sufficient  that  there  is  a  dead  capital  in  the  hands 
of  the  officer  of  State  to  redeem  the  notes  available  only 
after  a  failure.  How  is  the  bank  to  sustain  itself  in  a 
crisis?  For  it  is  important  that  the  bank  should  not  break 
when  money  is  particularly  needed.  Where  then  is  its 
strength?  The  gentleman  from  Posey  [Mr.  Owen]  pro 
poses  an  active  banking  capital  of  twenty-five  or  thirty- 
three  per  cent.,  and  all  the  rest  is  to  be  dead  capital. 
Now,  sir,  I  say,  that  all  experience  has  proven,  that  no 
single  bank,  even  with  a  basis  of  thirty-three  per  cent,  for 
their  issues  can  stand.  It  is  impossible.  But  a  system 
of  banks  with  branches  in  different  sections  of  the  country, 
each  liable  for  the  issues  of  the  other,  and  sustaining  each 
other,  may  stand  during  a  crisis,  with  a  specie  basis  of 
one-third  of  the  amount  of  their  issues  ;  but  one  single 
bank  can  not  sustain  itself  with  the  same  means.  When 
a  crisis  comes,  or  an  opposing  bank,  whose  interest  it 
may  be  to  break  down  a  single  bank,  brings  in  a  large 
amount  of  notes  to  be  redeemed,  where  is  the  money  to 
redeem  them?  On  the  other  hand,  with  our  present  sys 
tem  it  is  the  interest  of  each  of  the  branches  to  sustain  the 
other ;  and  in  that  is  the  safety  of  the  State  Bank  of  In 
diana. 

Gentlemen  talk  of  competition  in  banking ;  but  what 
will  that  produce?  I  am  in  favor  of  free  trade  ;  I  say  let 
trade  and  labor  go  as  free  as  the  winds  of  heaven  ;  but 
when  you  come  to  banking  a  different  principle  must 
prevail.  Competition  in  trade  reduces  prices  and  in 
creases  amounts. 

What  then  must  be  the  effect  of  competition  in  bank 
ing?  Free  trade  in  the  business  of  making  paper  money? 
28 


434  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS 

It  is  to  encourage  over-issues,  which  must  soon  be  fol 
lowed  by  a  depreciation  in  the  currency,  revulsion,  fail 
ures  and  bankruptcies.  The  bankers  become  competitors 
for  the  business,  to  secure  which,  they  will  loan  upon  long 
time  and  uncertain  security  to  men  to  pay  old  debts — to 
merchants  to  do  a  permanent  retail  business  upon  bor 
rowed  capital — to  speculators  in  uncertain  adventures. 
A  system  which,  in  the  end,  must  be  fatal  to  the  banks. 
This  policy  the  State  Bank  will  not  adopt,  and  for  this 
reason  she  is  bitterly  opposed  by  the  traders  and  specu 
lators  in  the  towns  and  cities,  and  a  demand  is  made  for 
free  banks,  while  no  complaint  is  made  against  this  sys 
tem  by  the  agricultural  interest.  Gentlemen  demand  a 
system  of  independent,  opposing,  competing  banks,  which 
would  be  constantly  engaged  in  warfare,  striving  to 
break  one  another.  Sir,  when  a  svstem  of  banks  is  once 
established,  and  their  paper  is  in  circulation,  it  is  import 
ant  to  labor  and  commerce  that  they  should  not  fail,  but 
be  sustained.  Is  it  not,  then,  better  to  have  banks  mutu 
ally  responsible,  interested  in  sustaining  one  another, 
with  a  safe  circulation,  in  such  amount  as  the  country  re 
quires,  without  a  struggle  and  competition  between  the 
banks?  Mr.  President,  I  thought  it  remarkable  that  the 
gentleman  from  Cass  [Mr.  Biddle],  who  is  usually  so 
clear  and  logical,  should  advocate  a  system,  the  friends 
of  which  claim  as  its  great  advantage  and  excellence, 
that  it  will  increase  the  circulation  and  make  the  banks 
competitors  for  business. 

Mr.  President,  I  will  detain  the  convention  only  to  pre 
sent  one  more  objection  which  I  have  to  this  system  of 
banking,  based  upon  State  debt,  called  the  free  banking 
system.  We  have  abandoned  the  policy  of  the  State  en 
gaging  in  works  of  internal  improvement.  This  is  cer 
tainly  wise  in  us.  But,  sir,  I  think  we  are  very  likely  to 
run  to  the  other  extreme,  of  individual  enterprise.  Our 
State  is  being  crossed  in  every  direction  by  railroads, 


ON    BANKS    AND    BANKING.  435 

plank  roads  and  canals ;  but  our  towns,  cities,  counties 
and  citizens  are  becoming  deeply  indebted  to  the  compa 
nies  that  are  constructing  these  works ;  and  these  com 
panies,  by  their  bonds,  issued  much  below  their  face, 
convertible  into  stock,  are  fast  falling  under  the  control 
and  management  of  eastern  and  foreign  capitalists.  The 
Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  the  Madison  and  Indianapolis 
Railroad  (our  great  public  works),  and  many  of  our 
smaller  roads  are  now  controlled  by  foreign  capitalists. 
Sir,  it  will  not  be  long  until  men  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  State  will  have  it  in  their  power  to  tax  the  whole  pro 
duce  of  the  State,  on  its  way  to  market,  as  may  suit  their 
interest.  Now,  sir,  if  in  addition  to  this  power,  we  make 
the  bonds  which  they  hold  upon  us  a  basis  for  banking, 
and  thereby  give  them  a  monopoly  of  the  banking  in  the 
State,  we  give  them  a  control  of  our  currency  which  they 
may  expand  and  contract  at  their  pleasure,  and  thereby 
control  the  price  of  all  property,  and  produce  and  labor 
in  the  State.  With  such  controlling  power  over  our  com 
merce  and  currency, could  our  trade  be  free,  our  legislation 
independent?  Indiana  would  become  dependent  upon, 
and  tributary  to,  the  moneyed  lords  of  the  East.  As  much 
so,  sir,  as  if  they  had  the  right  to  send  their  tax  gatherers 
amongst  us  every  year.  I  would  rather  see  our  beloved 
State  progress  more  slowly  and  retain  her  independence 
(and  I  use  that  word  in  its  fullest  sense),  than,  for  any 
gain,  to  become  the  subject  of  a  foreign  power.  Sir,  no 
slavery  is  more  abject  than  the  servitude  which  wealth 
demands  of  her  subjects. 


436  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 


II.  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS. 

SPEECH  TO  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  IN  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  WHOLE, 

Chamber  of  the  House,  Washington,  April  27,  1852. 

Mr.  Chairman  :  There  are  two  measures  now  before 
the  committee  in  which  the  West  has  a  special  interest ; 
and  as  I  represent  a  portion  of  that  great  and  growing 
section,  I  will  occupy  the  attention  of  the  committee 
while  I  present  my  views  in  relation  to  them.  I  refer, 
sir,  to  that  class  of  bills  which  propose  to  give  the  right 
of  way  over  the  public  lands,  and  to  donate  to  several 
of  the  Western  States,  to  aid  them  in  the  construction  of 
important  lines  of  railroad,  the  alternate  sections  of  the 
public  lands  lying  within  six  miles  of  the  proposed  roads 
on  either  side  ;  and  the  bill  (which  is  now  the  special 
order)  which  proposes  to  give  to  the  actual  settler  who 
is  the  head  of  a  family,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
the  unappropriated  public  lands. 

The  latter  bill,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  objected  to,  as  un 
equal  and  unjust  in  giving  to  a  portion  of  the  people  that 
which  belongs  to  all ;  and  to  avoid  this  objection  I  desire 
to  see  it  amended  ;  and,  if  it  be  in  order,  I  will,  before 
taking  my  seat,  move  that  it  be  reported  to  the  House 
with  a  recommendation  that  it  be  recommitted  to  the 
Committee  on  Public  Lands,  with  instructions  to  report  in 
its  stead  a  bill  securing  to  all  persons  who  settle  upon  the 
unappropriated  public  lands  in  good  faith,  for  their  own 
exclusive  use  and  benefit,  the  right  to  enter  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  thereof  at  the  cost  price  to  the  Govern 
ment. 

This  measure  of  reducing  the  price  of  the  public  lands 
to  actual  settlers  to  the  sum  they  cost  the  Government, 
and  the  measures  to  which  I  have  alluded,  of  donating  to 
the  new  States  portions  of  the  public  lands  to  aid  them 
in  the  construction  of  railroads  of  general  importance,  I 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  437 

propose  to  discuss.  And,  sir,  I  desire  to  present  them  in 
connection,  as  they  form  together  a  policy  which  will  se 
cure  the  early  settlement  and  improvement  of  the  unoc 
cupied  lands  of  the  West.  In  this  result,  Mr.  Chairman,, 
I  have  intimated  that  the  West  has  a  special,  paramount 
interest.  But,  sir,  with  the  West  every  other  section  of 
the  country  and  all  the  leading  interests  of  every  section, 
would  be  greatly  benefited  and  promoted. 

It  has  been  said  that  these  measures  are  antagonistic ;; 
that  securing  lands  to  settlers  upon  such  easy  terms  would 
greatly  impair  if  not  defeat  the  purposes  of  the  grants  to 
the  railroads.  And  I  believe  that  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
railroad  grants  oppose  the  other  measure  upon  this  ground. 
Sir,  these  measures  should  go  together.  They  will  sus 
tain  and  strengthen  each  other.  The  policy  of  stimulat 
ing  immigration  and  encouraging  dense  settlements  in 
the  interior  of  a  new  country,  without  providing  any 
means  of  transporting  their  produce  to  market,  would  be 
scarcely  less  wise  than  that  of  constructing  railroads  into 
an  unoccupied  region  without,  at  the  same  time  encourag 
ing  the  speedy  settlement,  improvement  and  cultivation 
of  the  surrounding  country. 

But  before  alluding  to  the  considerations  in  favor  of 
the  policy,  I  will  notice  the  positions  assumed  by  some 
of  the  gentlemen  who  oppose  it.  The  gentleman  from 
Maine  [Mr.  Fuller]  and  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  [Mr. 
Averett]  deny  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  to  do 
nate  the  public  lands  to  the  States  for  internal  improve 
ment  purposes,  or  to  individuals  for  the  purposes  of  set 
tlement  and  improvement. 

"Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting,  the  territory 
or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States." 

The  mode  of  disposing  of  the  public  lands  is  not  here 
pointed  out,  but  is  left  to  the  discretion  of  Congress.  Any 
disposition  of  the  lands  by  Congress,  whether  for  an  ad- 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

equate,  an  inadequate,  or  for  no  consideration  whatever, 
would  seem  to  be  within  the  letter  of  this  clause.  But, 
sir,  I  need  not  stand  behind  so  literal  a  construction  of 
this  provision.  Leaving  the  letter  and  looking  only  to 
the  spirit  of  the  clause,  I  ask  in  what  manner  may  Con 
gress  dispose  of  the  lands  ?  I  am  answered  by  sale  ;  the 
proceeds  going  into  the  common  treasury.  Then,  I  ask, 
may  not  Congress  do  in  respect  to  the  lands  whatever  is 
necessary  or  useful  in  bringing  them  into  market  and  se 
curing  an  early  and  profitable  sale  thereof?  This  is  not 
called  in  question,  and  upon  this  principle  is  based  nearly 
all  the  legislation  of  Congress  in  relation  to  the  public 
lands. 

The  gentleman  from  Virginia  asks,  where  is  the  power 
of  Congress  to  educate  the  children,  provide  for  the  poor, 
or  cure  the  insane?  I  freely  answer  there  is  no  such 
power  given,  and  as  an  object  sought  for  itself,  and  not 
as  incidental  to  something  else,  neither  education  nor 
charity  may  be  provided  for  by  the  Federal  Government. 
But  if,  in  the  administration  of  the  public  lands,  these  en- 
terprises  become  necessary  or  useful,  either  to  bring  the 
lands  into  market  or  to  secure  a  speedy  sale  of  the  less 
valuable  portions  by  making  them  more  desirable  to  the 
purchaser  and  settler,  then  may  Congress  lend  her  aid  to 
these  purposes.  And  under  this  right,  from  the  earliest 
time,  has  Congress  made  donations  of  the  public  lands 
for  schools,  for  seminaries  of  learning,  for  charitable  in 
stitutions,  and  for  roads  and  canals. 

Further,  sir,  in  the  wise  administration  of  the  public 
domain,  under  the  provision  of  the  Constitution  which  I 
have  mentioned,  Congress  has  exercised  the  highest 
power  which  any  government  may  possess,  the  power  of 
organizing  governments  in  the  Territories.  These  meas 
ures  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government  were  not  less 
wise  than  they  were  just  and  right.  Thereby  the  coun 
try  was  assured  of  the  early  establishment  of  schools  and 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  439 

of  law  and  order  in  the  new  countries  ;  ana  thus  men  were 
induced  to  leave  the  too  populous  portions  of  the  country 
to  find  society  and  wealth  in  the  new  sections  ;  and  un 
der  this  policy  the  great  agricultural  resources  of  the 
West  have  been  thus  far  developed. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  not  weary  the  committee  by  a 
further  detail  of  this  legislation.  Commencing  with  Wash 
ington's  administration  and  closing  with  the  laws  grant 
ing  lands  to  settlers  in  Oregon  and  Minnesota,  I  might 
multiply  the  precedents  upon  the  gentlemen  almost  be 
yond  number.  The  laws  of  this  class  are  so  numerous  in 
every  Administration  that  they  are  as  footprints  along 
the  pathway  of  the  country's  history.  I  will  leave  this 
branch  of  the  subject  by  saying  that  the  constitutionality 
of  this  class  of  legislation  is  sustained  by  every  mode 
which  we  regard  as  authoritative. 

Mr.  Chairman,  opposition  is  made  to  these  measures 
upon  the  ground,  as  charged,  that  they  are  unequal  and 
unjust,  and  in  violation  of  that  trust,  under  which  the 
General  Government  holds  the  lands  which  were  ceded 
by  the  States.  And  to  sustain  this  position,  gentlemen 
refer  to  the  several  deeds  by  which  the  lands  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  north  of  the  Floridas  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  in  which  were  provisions  that  the  lands 
were  for  the  common  use  and  benefit  of  all  the  States. 
And  much  stress  is  placed  upon  the  language  found  in 
the  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  deeds  of  cession,  that 
the  lands  ceded  should  be  considered  as  a  common  fund 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  United  States,  "  according 
to  their  respective  and  usual  proportions  of  the  general 
charge  and  expenditure,  and  shall  be  faithfully  disposed 
of  for  that  purpose,"  etc.  This  language  was  first  used 
in  the  Virginia  deed,  which  was  made  while  the  States 
were  held  together  under  the  "Articles  of  Confedera 
tion,"  and  to  be  properly  understood  must  be  taken  in  re 
lation  to  the  mode  of  assessing  and  imposing  the  "  general 


440  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

charge  "  upon  the  several  States.  Under  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  the  revenues  of  the  General  Government 
were  not  collected  directly  from  individuals,  but  were  as 
sessed  upon  the  several  States,  in  their  proportions,  and 
each  State  collected  its  proportion,  and  paid  it  into  the  com 
mon  treasury.  To  this  charge  upon  the  several  States,  the 
Virginia  deed  refers.  But  under  our  present  revenue  sys 
tem,  the  States  are  not  thus  charged,  but  the  revenues 
are  collected  from  individuals,  by  a  tax  upon  that  which 
they  purchase  from  abroad.  And  under  the  Constitution 
this  peculiar  phraseology  of  the  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina  deeds  can  have  no  practical  meaning  and  effect, 
unless,  perhaps,  in  the  event  of  a  resort  to  a  "  capitation 
or  other  direct  tax,"  which  (under  the  Constitution)  would 
be  laid  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration. 

For  what  purpose,  then,  sir,  were  these  lands  con 
veyed  to  the  United  States?  The  gentleman  from  Maine 
says  it  was  not  to  pay  any  debt.  Sir,  I  do  not  insist  that 
it  was  for  that  purpose  only.  I  repudiate  the  whole  of 
the  doctrine  that  these  lands  were  held  by  the  Govern 
ment,  in  trust,  to  pay  the  public  debt,  and  after  that  for 
the  benefit  of  the  several  States ;  and  out  of  which  grew 
the  whole  of  the  land  distribution  policy.  But  the  whole 
transaction  by  which  these  lands  were  acquired  by  the 
United  States  and  the  pledge  of  them  to  our  creditors  in 
1790,  show  that  the  great  consideration  and  inducement 
on  the  part  of  the  States,  in  their  surrender,  was  to  pro 
vide  for  the  exigencies  of  the  country  during  the  war,, 
and  to  discharge  the  public  debt  afterwards.  And,  sirr 
after  these  ends  were  accomplished,  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  held  these  lands,  not  specially  in  trust,  but  as  she 
holds  all  her  other  property,  to  be  disposed  of  by  her,  as 
the  representative  of  the  people,  for  the  public  good: 
And,  sir,  it  is  upon  this  very  doctrine  of  the  public  good, 
that  I  advocate  a  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  public 
lands  to  the  settlers.  Now  that  the  debts  of  the  Revolu- 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  441 

tipn  and  of  the  War  of  1812  have  been  discharged,  I 
deny  that  Congress  may  rightfully  speculate  in  the  lands 
of  the  settlers.  It  is  not  for  the  public  good.  In  his 
message  of  1832,  President  Jackson  says  : 

"  Among  the  interests  which  merit  the  consideration  of 
Congress  after  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  one  of  the 
most  important,  in  my  view,  is  that  of  the  public  lands. 
Previous  to  the  formation  of  our  present  Constitution,  it 
was  recommended  by  Congress  that  a  portion  of  the  waste 
lands  owned  bv  the  States,  should  be  ceded  to  the  United 
States  for  the  purposes  of  general  harmony,  and  as  a  fund 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  war.  The  recommendation 
was  adopted,  and  at  different  periods  of  time,  the  States 
of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  granted  their 
vacant  soil  for  the  uses  for  which  they  had  been  asked.  As 
the  lands  may  now  be  considered  as  relieved  from  this 
pledge,  the  object  for  which  they  were  ceded  having  been 
accomplished,  it  is  the  discretion  of  Congress  to  dispose 
of  them  in  such  a  way  as  best  to  conduce  to  the  quiet, 
harmony  and  general  interest  of  the  American  people." 

Again  in  the  same  message  he  says  : 

"  It  seems  to  me  to  be  our  true  policy  that  the  public 
lands  shall  cease,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  be  a  source 
of  revenue,  and  that  they  shall  be  sold  to  settlers  in  lim 
ited  parcels  at  a  price  barely  sufficient  to  reimburse  to  the 
United  States  the  expenses  of  the  present  system  and  the 
cost  arising  under  our  Indian  compacts." 

If  these  lands  are  held  under  so  strict  a  trust,  and  may 
not  be  diverted  for  any  purpose,  as  gentlemen  contend, 
then  I  ask  how  came  the  numerous  grants  to  schools, 
academies,  and  works  of  internal  improvements  at  every 
period  of  the  country's  history?  Did  Washington,  Jef 
ferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Adams  and  Jackson  violate  a 
sacred  trust  in  signing  the  numerous  bills  making  the 
grants? 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  lest  I  be  misunderstood,  I  will  say 
that  I  do  not  advocate  and  will  not  support  all  of  the  bills 
making  grants  of  lands  for  railroads  now  before  Con- 


442  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

gress.  Many  of  them  I  will  oppose.  I  will  only  support 
such  as  I  believe  to  be  of  general  interest  and  importance, 
"national  in  their  character."  The  bill  introduced  by 
my  colleague,  Mr.  Davis,  I  will  support.  That  bill  pro 
poses  to  give  to  the  States  of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  Terre  Haute,  in  the 
State  of  Indiana,  to  Springfield,  in  the  State  of  Illinois, 
the  alternate  sections  of  the  public  lands  for  six  sections 
in  width  on  each  side  of  said  road.  Now,  sir,  how  can 
the  Government,  or  any  portion  of  the  country,  sustain 
any  loss  by  this  grant?  Under  it  about  61,000  acres 
will  be  given  to  these  States  upon  the  condition  that  the 
railroad  is  constructed.  But  under  the  provision  of  the 
bill  the  61,000  acres  reserved  by  the  Government  are  re 
quired  to  be  sold  for  $2.50  per  acre  ;  and  thus,  upon  the 
construction  of  the  road,  the  reserved  lands  will  bring  as 
much  into  the  public  treasury  as  the  whole  would  have 
brought  without  the  road  ;  and,  sir,  no  man  can  doubt 
that  the  lands  so  reserved  by  the  Government  will  sell 
more  readily  at  this  increased  price  than,  without  the 
road,  the  whole  would  have  sold  for  $1.25  per  acre?  And 
the  purchasers  may  well  afford  to  give  the  enhanced 
price,  for  by  the  construction  of  the  road  the  lands  are 
rendered  that  much  more  valuable.  This  road  will  form 
a  portion  of  the  great  lines  of  railroad  running  from  the 
East  to  the  West,  connecting  by  this  chain  the  States 
of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri. 
When  this  great  enterprise  is  completed  it  will  be  a  work 
of  national  importance. 

There  is,  sir,  a  provision  in  this  bill,  and  I  believe  the 
same  provision  is  found  in  the  other  railroad  bills,  the 
importance  of  which  is,  I  think,  overlooked.  It  is  that 
when  the  road  is  completed  the  Government  shall  have 
the  right  of  transporting  in  the  cars  the  troops,  munitions 
of  war  and  army  supplies  of  the  United  States,  at  the 
lowest  rates  paid  by  individuals  for  like  services ;  and 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  44o 

that  the  public  mails  shall  be  transported  thereon  under 
the  charge  and  direction  of  the  Post  Office  Department, 
at  such  prices  as  Congress  may  establish.  By  reference 
to  the  report  of  the  Post  Master  General,  we  find  that 
during  the  last  fiscal  year,  the  transportation  of  the  mails 
upon  railroads  throughout  the  United  States,  cost  the 
Government  about  eleven  and  one-half  cents  per  mile ; 
by  coaches,  about  five  cents  and  three  mills  ;  by  steam 
boats,  about  eight  cents  and  three  mills  ;  and  by  other 
modes  not  specified,  about  four  cents  and  eight  mills  per 
mile.  In  the  State  of  Indiana  the  total  annual  trans 
portation  of  the  mails  was  1,769,844  miles.  Of  this  trans 
portation  99,216  miles  was  upon  railroads,  at  a  cost  of 
$10,650,  being  about  ten  and  three-fourths  cents  per  mile  ; 
the  remaining  transportation  of  1,670,628  miles,  was  by 
modes  not  specified,  at  a  cost  of  $77,634,  about  four  and 
two-thirds  cents  per  mile. 

Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  very  obvious  that  with  but  little  de 
lay,  railroad  companies  might  transport  the  mails  with 
less  inconvenience  and  at  less  expense  than  can  be  done 
by  any  other  mode.  Yet  the  Government  is  now  paying 
them  for  this  service  at  a  rate  of  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  per  cent,  higher  than  is  paid  to  the 
other  contractors  for  the  same  service.  This  is  owing  to 
the  fact  that  these  companies  can  have  no  competitors  for 
carrying  the  mail  with  equal  speed.  The  right  secured 
to  Congress  in  this  bill,  of  establishing  fair  prices  for 
carrying  the  mail  over  the  road,  if  secured  in  the  roads 
now  carrying  the  mails,  would  save  annually  of  the 
Post  Office  revenue  about  $500,000 — nearly  one-sixth  of 
the  entire  cost  of  transportation  of  the  mails  in  the  United 
States,  and  nearly  one-fourth  the  amount  received  from 
the  sales  of  public  lands.  What,  then,  sir,  will  this  right 
be  worth,  when  the  roads  now  commenced,  or  in  con 
templation,  are  completed,  and  two-thirds  of  the  mail 
transportation  is  upon  them?  Sir,  it  would  save  annually 


444  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

to  the  Government  nearly  as  much  as  we  receive  from 
the  lands.  I  have  no  means  of  estimating  the  annual 
saving  to  the  Government  likely  to  accrue  from  the  pro 
vision  in  these  bills, — that  the  troops,  munitions  of  war 
and  army  supplies  of  the  United  States  shall  be  trans 
ported  on  the  roads  at  the  lowest  prices  paid  by  individ 
uals  for  like  services, — but  I  will  say  that,  if  the  demands, 
of  the  railroad  monopolies  for  this  service  are  as  exorbi 
tant  and  unconscionable  as  they  are  for  carrying  the 
mails,  then  this  provision  can  not  but  be  valuable  ;  and  in 
time  of  war,  for  the  speedy  transportation  of  the  army 
without  extortion,  it  would  be  of  the  greatest  importance. 
In  his  report  last  November,  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  speaking  of  the  Western  States  and 
Territories,  says  : 

"  In  those  States  and  Territories  there  now  remains  an 
aggregate  of  more  than  fourteen  hundred  millions  of 
acres  of  unsold  land,  abounding  in  all  varieties  of  min 
eral  wealth  and  fruitful  in  all  the  productions  of  the  earth 
that  can  minister  to  the  happiness  or  comfort  of  man." 

Fourteen  hundred  millions  of  acres  !  So  vast  is  it, 
sir,  that  our  minds  fail  to  fully  take  in  and  compre 
hend  its  extent.  "  Fruitful  in  all  the  productions  of  the 
earth  that  can  minister  .to  the  happiness  or  comfort  of 
man,"  this  vast  portion  of  the  earth  lies  yet  a  wilderness. 
Holding  these  lands  for  the  people,  in  what  way  shall  the 
Government  dispose  of  them?  What,  sir,  should  be  its- 
policy  in  reference  to  this  great  territory?  Should  it  be 
liberal,  encouraging  its  early  settlement  and  the  speedy  de 
velopment  of  its  vast  resources  ;  or  to  secure  two  or  three 
millions  of  dollars  annually  to  the  public  Treasury,  should 
the  lands  be  held  on  to  with  a  miser's  grasp  ?  Sir,  let  them 
be  settled,  improved  and  cultivated,  and  the  settlers  will 
pay  into  the  Treasury  in  the  import  tax  upon  foreign 
goods  which  they  must  consume,  more  than  we  are  an 
nually  realizing  from  the  sales  of  the  lands.  And  what  a 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  445 

market  will  New  England  be  called  upon  to  supply  from 
her  shops  and  factories,  and  Pennsylvania  from  her  fur 
naces,  and  the  South  with  the  productions  of  her  soil ; 
and  how  will  our  commerce  be  stimulated — our  ships 
laden  down  with  the  productions  of  that  vast  country  !  I 
say  to  gentlemen  of  New  England  and  the  Atlantic  States, 
that  we  all  have  an  interest  in  this  great  enterprise. 

But  we  are  met  with  the  sectional  and  selfish  reply  that 
the  advantages  of  this  liberal  legislation  can  not  be  avail 
able  to  the  people  of  the  East.  I  ask,  why  not?  Why 
may  not  the  industrious  and  enterprising  young  men  of 
your  States,  who  have  not  means  to  secure  a  homestead 
where  the  land  is  so  high,  go  to  the  West,  and  at  the 
cheap  rates  which  I  propose,  secure  to  themselves  a  free 
hold  and  the  independent  position  of  Western  farmers? 

It  is  true,  Mr.  Chairman — and  I  freely  admit  it — that 
in  this  policy  the  Western  States  have  the  greater  interest. 
By  bringing  these  wild  lands  into  cultivation  and  sub 
jecting  them  to  State  taxation,  we  are  made  richer,  while 
you  are  made  none  the  poorer.  In  this  we  take  nothing 
from  you,  but  will  bring  our  wealth  up  out  of  that  earth 
which  is  now  idle  and  waste.  We  ask  no  unequal  and 
unjust  protective  laws,  by  which  you  shall  be  taxed  that 
we  may  become  rich.  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  not  disguise 
the  fact  that  upon  this  question  I  feel  and  speak  as  a 
Western  man ;  and  I  am  bold  to  say  that  the  West  may 
now  rightfully  claim  that  a  liberal,  generous  policy  be 
adopted  in  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands. 

Yes,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  lands  cost  the  Government  not 
twenty-two  cents  per  acre,  and  she  sells  them  for  $1.25. 
The  eighty-acre  tract  costs  her  not  quite  $17.60,  and  she 
sells  it  for  $100;  and  for  the  quarter  section,  which  costs 
her  less  than  $35.20,  she  gets  $200,  making  a  profit  of 
$164.80  on  every  quarter  section  she  sells  to  the  farmers 
of  the  West.  This  profit  not  being  required  to  meet  any 
expenses  connected  with  the  lands  goes  into  the  Treas- 


446  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ury  and    forms  a  part  of  the  general  revenue.    It  is  a  tax, 
sir,  to  that  amount  upon  the  settlers  of  the  West. 

But,  Mr.  Chairman,  let  us  prosecute  this  inquiry  a  lit 
tle  further.  When  the  Indian  title  is  extinguished,  and 
the  surveys  are  completed,  what  are  the  lands  that  are 
situated  far  out  from  the  settlements  worth  to  the  Govern 
ment?  What  can  she  get  for  them?  Not  anything,  sir; 
not  even  the  twenty-two  cents  per  acre.  But,  as  the  ad 
vancing  column  of  emigration  approaches,  bearing  down 
the  forests,  opening  farms,  building  up  towns,  construct 
ing  roadsv  erecting  school  houses  and  churches,  organiz 
ing  society,  and  establishing  law  and  order,  these  lands 
are  brought  into  market,  and  are  rendered  valuable  and 
desirable,  and  then  the  Government  may  command  for 
them  the  $1.25  per  acre  from  the  hardy,  enterprising,  ad 
venturous  men,  who  lead  the  advanced  ranks  of  civiliza 
tion.  Sir,  it  is  the  bold  pioneers  of  the  West  that  have 
given  value  to  your  lands  ;  and  when  they  or  their  sons 
wish  to  improve  and  cultivate  a  portion  thereof,  their  Gov 
ernment  charges  them  and  taxes  them  with  this  very  value 
which  they  have  given  to  it.  To  show  the  profit  which 
the  General  Government  has  made  out  of  the  sales  of  her 
lands  to  the  people,  I  will  refer  to  the  sales  that  have  been 
made  in  the  State  which  I  have  the  honor  in  part  to  rep 
resent.  And  first,  sir,  I  will  say  that  I  have  heard  very 
much  since  I  have  taken  my  seat  in  this  hall  about  the 
donations  of  land  that  have  been  made  to  the  State  of  In 
diana  and  other  Western  States ;  and  these  donations 
have  been  spoken  of  as  if  they  were  mere  benefactions 
from  the  hand  of  the  Government.  Let  us  see  how  the 
account  stands  with  Indiana. 

The  grants  made  to  her  for  schools,  colleges,  etc.,  for 
roads,  canals  and  other  internal  improvements,  for  the 
seat  of  government  and  for  swamp  lands,  in  the  aggre 
gate  amount  to  3,267,640  acres,  which,  at  $1.25  per  acre, 
would  amount  to  $4,084,325.  But,  sir,  for  675,915  acres 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS. 


447 


of  this,  amounting  at  $1.25  per  acre  to  $844,996,  granted 
by  the  law  providing  for  her  admission  into  the  Union, 
Indiana  surrendered  the  right  of  taxing  the  lands  sold  by 
the  General  Government  for  five  years  after  the  sale  ;  a 
full  consideration,  and  that  grant  is  no  donation.  This 
leaves  the  Government  to  claim  as  a  donation  to  the 
State  only  2,591,543  acres,  amounting  to  $3,239,329.  I 
have  not  included  the  three  per  cent,  of  the  sales  of  the 
lands  in  the  State,  secured  to  her  by  the  same  law,  for 
that  was  but  a  part  of  the  consideration  for  which  the 
State  surrendered  her  right  of  taxing  the  lands  for  five 
years  after  their  sale.  The  people  of  Indiana  have  pur 
chased  of  the  lands  within  her  border  15,918,790  acres. 
This  cost  the  Government  not  quite  twenty-two  cents  per 
acre,  amounting  to  $2,502,133.80.  For  this  land  the 
Government  received  from  the  purchasers  $21,870,255.57, 
more  than  $1.37  per  acre,  making  a  profit  to  the  Govern 
ment  upon  every  acre  of  land  sold  to  the  people  of  In 
diana  $1.15. 

Mr.  Chairman,  after  deducting  the  donations  to  the 
State,  estimated  at  $1.25  per  acre,  and  the  costs  of  the 
lands,  the  General  Government  has  made  a  clear  profit 
upon  the  lands  sold  to  the  settlers  within  the  State  of  In 
diana  of  the  sum  of  $16,128,793.  When  was  a  people  so 
taxed,  and  who  were  the  men  who  paid  this  enormous 
profit?  Not  men  of  wealth  ;  not  speculators,  sir.  They 
were  bold  men,  energetic  and  enterprising ;  but1  they 
were  generally  poor  men — men  who,  to  secure  a  home 
for  themselves  and  families,  paid  out  the  last  dollar  to 
the  Government,  and  without  means  encountered  the 
hardships  of  the  border  life  ;  without  means  opened  their 
farms,  built  their  houses  and  made  their  roads.  What  a 
contrast  in  the  policy  toward  the  East,  with  her  manu 
facturing  establishment,  and  the  West  with  her  agricul 
tural  interest.  The  former  you  have  protected,  encour 
aged  and  stimulated,  while  the  latter,  in  its  infancy  and 


448  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

in  its  weakness,  you  have  made  to  pay  a  burdensome 
tribute. 

And,  sir,  where  has  this  money  that  the  West  has  paid 
into  the  treasury  gone?  Not  in  any  way  has  it  been  re 
ceived  by  the  West.  Not  a  tithe  have  we  received  back 
again.  While  our  navigation  and  commerce  are  neglected, 
and  our  great  national  rivers  are  unimproved,  this  money 
that  we  have  paid  into  the  treasury  is  taken  to  construct 
your  breakwaters,  improve  your  harbors  and  build  your 
light  houses  upon  the  Atlantic  coast.  And  yet  Maine, 
and  New  York,  and  Virginia  cry,  hold  on  to  the  lands ; 
tax  them,  we  must  have  revenue  from  them.  Sir,  the 
pioneers  of  the  West  have  paid  enough ;  let  their  sons 
have  cheap  lands.  Give  the  young  men  of  the  country 
lands  upon  easy  terms,  and  they,  as  independent  farmers, 
will  make  you  a  good  return  of  virtue,  of  patriotism,  and 
of  revenue. 

Mr.  Chairman,  in  this  connection  I  will  refer  to  the 
sentiments  of  President  Jackson,  expressed  twenty  years 
ago.  And  I  do  so  with  great  pleasure,  for  he  understood 
Western  interest,  and  comprehended  the  importance  of 
agriculture  more  thoroughly  than  any  other  statesman  of 
our  country.  And  if  his  sentiments  had  governed  in 
other  administrations,  we  would  not  have  seen  the  West, 
in  its  infant  struggles,  so  burdened  by  the  hand  of  Gov 
ernment,  while  the  East  was  protected  and  strengthened. 
He  says : 

"  It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  speedy  settlement  of 
these  lands  constitutes  the  true  interest  of  the  Republic. 
The  wealth  and  strength  of  a  country  are  its  population, 
and  the  best  part  of  that  population  are  the  cultivators  of 
the  soil.  Independent  farmers  are  everywhere  the  basis 
of  society,  and  true  friends  of  liberty." 

Again,  he  says  : 

"  The  adventurous  and  hardy  population  of  the  West, 
besides  contributing  their  equal  share  of  taxation  under 


THE    PUBLIC    LANDS.  .      449 

our  important  system,  have,  in  the  progress  of  our  Gov 
ernment,  for  the  lands  they  occupy,  paid  into  the  Treas 
ury  a  large  proportion  of  fortv  millions  of  dollars,  and  of 
the  revenue  received  therefrom,  but  a  small  part  has  been 
expended  among  them." 

Mr.  Chairman,  there  is  but  one  other  consideration  in 
favor  of  the  reduction  of  the  price  of  the  public  lands, 
which  I  shall  now  notice.  It  is,  sir,  that  it  will  provide 
for  the  foreign  emigration  that  is  yearly  landing  upon  our 
shores  in  greatly  increased  numbers.  Motives  of  human 
ity  as  well  as  considerations  of  sound  policy  require  that 
we  provide  cheap  lands  for  the  emigrants.  Whether  we 
desire  it  or  not  they  will  come.  In  Europe  the  battle  for 
freedom  seems  to  have  been  fought  and  lost.  Despotism 
has  settled  down  upon  the  people.  All  who  long  for 
liberty  are  looking  toward  our  shores.  Ireland  is  com 
ing,  and  Germany  is  sending  her  children.  Oppression 
has  made  them  poor,  and  many  destitute,  and  many  with 
small  means  are  landing.  For  their  good,  for  our  good 
and  safety,  give  them  cheap  lands. 

Sir,  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  are  troubled  with  fears 
vf  danger  to  our  institutions  on  account  of  the  presence 
of  a  foreign  population  amongst  us.  I  think  that  the  man 
who  leaves  the  land  of  his  nativity,  the  associations  of 
his  youth,  and  the  attachments  of  his  manhood,  because 
he  admires  our  institutions,  and  longs  for  the  liberty  they 
secure,  and  makes  ours  the  land  of  his  choice  and  adop 
tion,  gives  a  guarantee  of  his  fidelity  to  our  laws  and  in 
stitutions.  But  to  those  who  think  differently,  who  be 
lieve  there  is  danger  in  this  foreign  emigration,  may  I 
not  address  my  argument? 

Whence  do  you  apprehend  the  danger?     Under  what 

circumstances  is  it  most  imminent?     Is  it  not  where  we 

find  them   in  great  numbers  dependent  upon  city  labor 

for  subsistence?  But  hold  out  inducements  for  them  to  go 

29 


450  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

out  to  the  new  country,  each  man  to  settle  down  upon 
land  that  is  his  own,  and  labor  there  for  himself  and  his 
children,  associating  with  the  native  farmers  around  him, 
and  how  soon  will  he  become  Americanized — imbued 
with  the  pervading  love  of  country?  They  will  then  feel 
that  they  and  their  children  have  a  stake  and  interest  in 
the  country  and  its  institutions.  In  peace  they  will  be 
quiet,  law  abiding  citizens,  and  in  war  the  country's  cause 
will  be  their  cause,  and  her  enemies  their  enemies. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  know  of  no  object  that,  as  philanthro 
pists  and  statesmen,  we  can  more  desire  than  that  every 
man  who  cultivates  the  soil  shall  have  his  own  land  to 
labor  upon.  But,  sir,  there  is  force  in  the  objection  to 
the  bill  under  consideration  that  it  gives  the  land  to  the 
settler  without  any  price  ;  that  it  is  taking  that  which  be 
longs  to  all  and  giving  it  to  a  part,  and  to  avoid  that  ob 
jection  I  propose  the  amendment  that  the  Government 
shall  be  paid  for  each  piece  of  land  what  it  has  cost  her. 
None  can  then  complain  of  inequality  or  injustice.  And 
the  price,  twenty-two  cents  per  acre,  is  but  a  small  im 
pediment  to  the  settler  in  getting  his  freehold  ;  it  is  but  a 
small  impediment  to  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  Western 
wilderness. 

I  therefore  move  that  the  bill  and  pending  amendments 
be  reported  to  the  House,  with  a  recommendation  that 
they  be  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands, 
with  instructions  to  report  a  bill  securing  to  the  settler  the 
right  to  enter  a  quarter  section  of  land  at  the  price  it  costs 
the  Government. 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  451 

III.    THE  ISSUES  OF  THE  WAR. 

SPEECH   DELIVERED   TO   THE   DEMOCRATIC   STATE   CONVENTION, 

Metropolitan  Hall,  Indianapolis,  January  <§,  1862. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  conferred  in 
calling  upon  me  to  preside  over  your  deliberations. 

It  is  pursuant  to  the  usage  of  our  party  that  this  Con 
vention  of  delegates,  sent  up  from  all  portions  of  the  State, 
is  now  in  session.  A  custom,  innocent  in  itself  and  found 
to  be  useful,  ought  not  to  be  hastily  abandoned,  nor  with 
out  cause  at  any  time,  and  especially  when  the  exigen 
cies  of  the  times  demand  its  observance. 

It  has  been  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the  Democracy  of 
this  State  in  times  past  that  chosen  delegates  should  sit 
in  council  on  each  revolving  8th  of  January,  to  deliber 
ate  upon  all  matters  material  or  important  to  the  party 
organization,  or  touching  the  public  weal.  To  maintain 
that  custom  I  raise  my  voice,  and  give  my  vote  this  day. 
I  am  not  prone  to  attach  importance  or  sanctity  to  partic 
ular  days,  except  so  far  as  our  religion  has  prescribed ; 
yet  to  me  it  seems  meet  and  proper  that  the  day  made 
memorable  by  the  patriotism  and  heroism  of  our  great 
leader,  Andrew  Jackson,  and  his  gallant  army,  should 
not  be  forgotten,  now  that  our  country  is  in  her  greatest 
peril,  but  that  it  should  be  observed  by  his  political  chil 
dren,  in  sentiments  of  fidelity  to  his  principles,  and  in 
deeds  of  devotion  to  our  country.  It  is  now  nearly  half 
a  century  since  the  8th  of  January  became  to  us,  as  a 
people,  a  great  day  among  all  the  days  of  the  year ;  and 
I  feel  the  allusion  to  it  brings  up  in  your  minds  sad  and 
foreboding  contrasts  ;  that  the  pride  and  glory  of  the  past 
stand  side  by  side  with  the  humiliation  and  abasement  of 
the  present.  Forty-seven  years  ago  our  fathers  were 
united, — united  not  alone  by  the  forms  of  law  and  the  ob 
ligations  of  the  Constitution,  but  by  that  honest,  fraternal 


452  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

love  that  made  them  indeed  one  people  ;  and  when  the 
January  sun  lighted  up  this  land,  the  earnest  inquiry  was 
upon  every  tongue  :  What  will  be  the  fate  of  New  Orleans 
this  day?  Will  that  Capital  of  our  late  acquisition  be 
come  the  prey  of  a  soldiery  imbruted  by  the  war  cry  of 
"  booty  and  beauty?  "  The  setting  sun  of  that  day  threw 
back  his  rays  upon  the  banner  of  our  country  floating 
over  a  victorious  field,  and  as  the  news  ran  from  the 
border  settlements  over  the  towns  and  cities  and  States, 
a  wild  shout  of  joy  went  up  from  a  people  of  one  heart. 
As  deep  and  earnest  as  was  the  love  of  that  day,  so  pro 
found  and  implacable  is  becoming  the  enmity  of  the  pres 
ent.  Fanaticism,  bigotry  and  sectional  hatred  are  doing 
the  work  of  evil  upon  a  great,  a  generous  and  a  noble 
people. 

The  propriety  and  policy  of  holding  this  Convention 
have  been  much  discussed,  but  to  me  it  has  seemed  most 
proper  and  politic.  The  Democratic  party,  with  a  well 
defined  system  of  political  principles,  and  animated  by 
an  intense  devotion  to  the  interests  and  honor  of  the 
country,  comes  down  to  us  from  the  early  days  of  the 
Republic,  with  a  history  intimately  identified  with  our 
progress  and  the  greatness  we  have  achieved  as  a  people. 
Bold,  confident  and  determined,  the  Democratic  party 
has  always  assumed  and  occupied  its  position  upon  every 
question  affecting  either  the  honor  of  the  Government 
or  the  prosperity  of  the  people.  It  has  never  sought  to 
avoid  the  responsibility  which,  because  of  its  influence 
and  its  power  of  right,  belonged  to  it ;  and  when  its  mighty 
weight  has  been  thrown  for  or  against  any  particular  sys 
tem  of  public  policy,  it  has  been  felt  throughout  the  whole 
frame  work  of  the  government.  I  do  not  mention  these 
things  to  boast  thereof,  but  that,  as  we  stand  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  past,  invoking  its  spirit,  and  feeling  its  power 
we  may  be  stimulated  to  follow  where  duty  beckons, 
whatever  dangers  beset  the  way.  Do  you  not  now  hear 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  453 

the  wailing  cry  of  our  country?  And  does  not  the  sobbing 
voic*e  of  civil  liberty,  coming  from  out  the  ruins  of  a  vio 
lated  Constitution,  and  the  broken  pillars  of  our  institu 
tions,  call  us  to  the  rescue?  Then  let  the  word  pass  along 
the  serried  ranks  of  the  Democracy :  Every  man  to  his 
post,  every  man  for  his  country. 

If  the  Democratic  organization  be  not  maintained  then 
where  are  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  honest,  conserv 
ative  and  patriotic  citizens  who  have  heretofore  acted 
with  the  Republican  party,  but  who  now  regard  the  suc 
cess  of  that  party  as  a  public  calamity,  to  go,  that  their 
influence  may  be  exerted  for  the  salvation  of  their  coun 
try?  They  will  go  with  us,  if  we  but  maintain  our  or 
ganization  and  occupy  a  wise  and  patriotic  position. 

But,  if  we  abandon  our  organization  under  the  false 
cry  of  no  party,  in  whose  hands  do  we  leave  the  State 
and  Federal  Government,  and  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  people?  In  the  hands  of  the  leaders  of  the  Republi 
can  party,  the  most  prescriptive  and  intolerant  ever 
known  to  the  country — the  very  men  who  for  years  have 
labored  to  build  up  a  sectional  party — who,  for  the  sake 
of  political  power,  and  by  the  arts  and  appeals  of  the 
demagogue,  have  taught  the  people  of  the  South — who, 
by  appeals  to  sectional  pride  and  prejudice,  have  excited 
first  jealousy  and  then  hatred  ;  until  now  the  power  of  the 
sections  is  embodied  in  terrible  armies,  ready  to  join  in 
the  death  grapple — who,  as  late  as  last  winter  and  spring, 
when  the  storm  was  coming,  and  the  sky  was  growing 
black,  refused  and  spurned  every  proposition  of  adjust 
ment  that  would  have  quelled  the  storm,  swept  the  dark 
clouds  away  and  again  let  in  the  bright  sunshine  of 
peace — who,  when  Virginia  and  Kentucky  called  for  a 
peace  congress,  that  terms  of  conciliation  and  peace 
might  be  made,  refused  to  respond  in  the  spirit  of  the 
call ;  and  disregarding  the  Democratic  and  conservative 
sentiment  of  the  North,  appointed  a  controlling  number 


454  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

of  the  delegates  distinguished  for  their  party  rancor,  and 
known  to  be  opposed  to  all  conciliation  and  compromise. 
Can  we  then,  as  patriots,  without  an  effort  to  save  it,  sur 
render  our  country  to  the  control  of  a  party  whose  his 
tory  thus  far  is  written  in  failure,  in  corruption,  in  public 
ruin?  May  I  not  say  in  failure  when  in  vain  I  ask  for 
one  good  act  of  that  party,  one  single  measure  of  its 
adoption  that  adds  to  the  prosperity  of  the  people,  or  to 
the  greatness  of  the  country?  All  men  will  say  in  failure 
when  the  results  of  Republican  rule  are  examined  by  the 
light  of>  promises  made  before  the  election — when  the 
good  times  promised  are  compared  with  the  hard  times 
brought.  May  I  not  say  in  corruption  when  the  factions 
of  that  party  contend  in  mutual  accusations  of  more  enor 
mous  fraud  and  peculations — when  the  supporters  of 
Fremont  throw  back  the  charges  preferred  and  proven 
against  him,  by  the  extraordinary  defense,  that  the  sappers 
and  miners  at  and  about  Washington,  the  Camerons,  the 
Weeds,  the  Wellses,  the  Morgans  and  Cummingses,  are 
more  flagrant  plunderers  of  the  treasury  than  the  camp  fol 
lowers  of  Fremont — when  this  reeking  corruption  is  not 
confined  to  the  miserable  wretches  who  sell  hospital  stores, 
or  give  short  weights,  or  adulterate  the  food  and  drink 
of  the  soldier  ;  but  crawls  upon  the  very  counsel  table  of 
the  President,  and  mingles  in  cabinet  deliberations,  and 
is  now  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  President  by  in 
dubitable  and  record  evidence,  and  yet  the  public  wrong 
is  not  righted  ;  when  to  such/  astounding  lengths  these 
things  have  gone  that  the  Times  newspaper,  of  Cincin 
nati,  a  bitter  opponent  of  the  Democracy,  in  a  recent 
article  has  been  compelled  to  say : 

"God  help  the  nation  if  these  things  are  to  continue. 
We  must  confess  we  are  losing  our  patience.  The  Con 
gressional  reports  show  that  the  War  Department,  at 
least,  is  in  the  hands  of  thieves.  The  masterly  inactivity 
of  the  Administration  is  broken  onlv  when  it  comes  to  the 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  455 

plundering  of  the  Treasury.  The  report  of  the  Congres 
sional  Investigating  Committee  thrills  every  honest  man 
with  horror.  It  is  the  saddest  exposition  of  our  national 
history. 

"  It  exhibits  a  degree  of  corruption  in  the  War  and 
Navy  Departments,  not  expected  in  this  critical  hour. 
The  Public  Treasury  is  in  the  hands  of  thieves,  whose 
only  solicitude  is  plunder.  If  Congress  was  honest,  as  it 
ought  to  be,  Simon  Cameron  would  have  been  hurled 
from  his  office  in  disgrace  before  this,  and  Ft.  Lafayette 
crowded  with  the  Weeds,  the  Cummingses,  the  Morgans, 
and  the  host  of  plunderers  proved  guilty  by  thr  v  investi 
gation.  But  even  this  terrible  exhibition  does  not  seem 
to  have  created  a  sensation  in  Congress.  Does  the  plun 
der  conspiracy  extend  even  there?" 

In  this  connection,  it  is  right  that  honorable  mention 
and  exception  be  made  of  the  Cabinet  officer  from  Indi 
ana,  and  as  an  Indianian,  I  thank  him  that  his  official 
conduct  allows  me  this  pleasure. 

I  said  the  history  of  the  Republican  party  is  being 
written  in  public  ruin ;  and  does  any  one  hesitate  to  be 
lieve  it?  If  so  let  me  refer  him  to  broken  institutions,  to  a 
disturbed  commerce  and  interrupted  trade — to  a  deranged 
currency,  and  the  low  prices  of  all  our  valuable  produc 
tions — and  let  me  ask,  is  public  ruin  not  marked  upon 
all?  In  what  single  thing  that  we  value  are  we  now  as 
secure  as  we  were  before  the  Republican  party  came  into 
power?  Is  it  individual  wealth  or  public  credit?  Your  de 
preciated  estates,  and  the  bonds  of  Indiana  refused  in  the 
market  at  eighty  cents  on  the  dollar,  furnish  the  answer. 
Is  it  individual  security  and  liberty?  Hear  the  response, 
in  the  groans  of  men  confined  without  a  charge,  and  de 
nied  the  privilege  of  a  trial. 

Is  it  the  honor  of  the  nation?  The  surrender  of  Mason 
and  Slidell  tells  us,  that  we  have,  for  the  first  time  in  our 
history,  bent  the  knee  to  our  ancient  foe. 


456        SELECTED  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS. 

The  limes  never  so  demanded  a  thorough  and  efficient 
organization  of  the  Democratic  party  as  at  present.  Throw 
out  the  banner,  and  upon  its  ample  folds  let  the  people 
see  inscribed  their  time  honored  principles,  and  they  will 
gladly  rally  round  it,  as  of  yore. 

A  civil  war  is  upon  us.  For  its  existence  the  Demo 
cratic  party  is  not  responsible.  For  many  years  we  have 
admonished  those  who  favored  a  sectional  party  of  its 
danger — in  the  sentiments  of  Washington's  Farewell  Ad 
dress,  that  the  greatest  danger  to  be  apprehended  to  our 
country  was  the  formation  of  geographical  parties — we 
have  advocated  "  those  doctrines  which  we  believed  fair 
and  equal  to  all  sections  ;  and  which  could  have  been 
adopted  without  wounding  the  pride,  or  stimulating  the 
arrogance  of  either."  Our  appeals  were  disregarded. 
Sectional  pride,  prejudice  and  hatred  in  one  section  pro 
duced  the  same  sentiments  in  the  other ;  and  of  this  sec 
tional  strife  was  begotten  our  present  troubles.  The  war 
is  upon  us — "  wickedly  provoked  on  the  one  side,  and  in 
folly  and  sin,  and  without  sufficient  cause,  commenced  on 
the  other."  With  secession  upon  the  one  hand,  and  sec 
tional  interference  with  Southern  rights  upon  the  other, 
we  hold  no  sympathy.  Our  most  earnest  desire  is  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Union  upon  the  basis  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  and,  for  myself,  I  will  give  an  honest  support  to  all 
constitutional  and  proper  measures  adopted  by  the  Ad 
ministration  to  that  end  ;  and  I  will  as  earnestly  oppose 
all  acts  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  and  in  suppres 
sion  of  liberty,  because  of  my  veneration  for  that  solemn 
compact  of  our  fathers,  and  because  such  policy  renders 
the  Union  impossible ;  by  obliterating  the  Union  senti 
ment  of  the  South,  and  giving  aid  and  comfort  to  its  en 
emies. 

What  are  we  to  do  with  the  Negroes  of  the  South,  in 
connection  with  the  war,  is  asked  upon  every  hand.  Be 
fore  answering  that  let  me  ask,  for  what  purpose  is  the  war 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  457 

waged?  If,  as  the  President  does  profess,  and  all  the 
soldiers  in  the  field  believe,  it  is  to  suppress  a  rebellion, 
to  restore  the  Union  and  establish  the  Constitution  and 
the  supremacy  of  the  laws  ;  then  I  answer,  with  the  Ne 
gro  slave  and  his  condition,  we  have  nothing  to  do  ;  noth 
ing  whatever,  either  as  a  purpose,  incident  or  consequence 
of  the  war.  If  the  Constitution  be  restored  in  its  author 
ity  over  all  the  States,  then  the  Constitution  itself  refers 
the  condition  of  the  colored  race  to  the  authority  of  the 
States,  and  by  its  own  provisions  excludes  Federal  juris 
diction.  But  beyond  that  how  is  the  Negro  to  be  made  an 
element  of  strength  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion? 
Cameron  and  his  supporters  of  the  Republican  party  say, 
put  arms  in  their  hands.  For  what  purpose?  Are  there 
not  as  many  men  in  the  North  ready  to  fight  as  we  can 
arm,  and  feed,  and  clothe  and  pay?  Or  is  it  true  that, 
outnumbering  the  South  nearly  as  three  to  one,  the  North 
falters  and  fails  and  must  call  the  Negro  to  the  rescue? 
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Another  class,  too  cowardly  to  fight,  and  too  malevo 
lent  to  be  gratified  by  the  results  of  civilized  warfare, 
demand  a  carnival  of  blood  and  feast  of  horrors,  amid 
scenes  of  servile  insurrection.  Our  fathers  detested  the  foe 
that  would  incite  the  forest  savage  to  scenes  of  midnight 
massacre,  and  the  judgment  of  enlightened  and  civilized 
humanity  condemns  an  appeal  to  the  cupidity  or  lust  of 
the  soldiery.  Shall  we,  then,  who  have  in  keeping  the 
honorable  memories  of  our  fathers,  who  are  amenable  to 
the  judgment  of  the  civilized  nations  ;  shall  we  invoke  to 
our  aid  the  Negroes  of  the  South,  calling  up  the  foul 
spirit  of  insurrection,  and  making  indiscriminate  and  un 
controlled  war  upon  men,  women  and  children,  amid 
scenes  too  horrible  to  be  described,  and  too  wicked  to 
bring  a  blessing  ?  As  I  believe  our  soldiers  are  strong 
and  brave,  I  denounce  it  as  an  insult  to  them  ;  and  as  I 
am  jealous  of  our  good  name  and  fair  fame,  I  would  make 


458  SELECTED    SPEECHES    A^D    WRITINGS. 

proclamation  of  it  as  a  thing  so  atrocious  as  to  consign  us 
to  infamy  in  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world. 

There  is  yet  another  class  who  demand,  some  as  a  pur 
pose,  and  others  as  a  consequence  of  the  war,  the  emanci 
pation  of  the  slaves. 

In  a  military  point  of  view,  there  is  weakness,  embar 
rassment,  and  burthen  in  the  proposition,  and  no  strength. 
Without  emancipation  and  its  evils,  the  slaves  found  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  camps,  may  be  used  to  relieve 
the  soldiers  of  exhausting  labor.  Owing  service  to  their 
masters,  they  may  be  required  to  render  that  service  to 
the  Government ;  but  if  made  free,  it  will  be  at  their  dis 
cretion  and  pleasure  whether  they  relieve  the  soldiers  in 
the  trenches  and  upon  the  breastworks  ;  at  least  such  is 
the  view  of  the  Administration,  as  expounded  by  the  Sec 
retary  of  War,  who  says,  "  The  Government  has  no 
power  to  hold  slaves,  none  to  restrain  a  slave  from  his 
liberty,  or  to  exact  his  service.  It  has  the  right,  how 
ever,  to  use  the  voluntary  services  of  slaves,  liberated  by 
war  from  their  rebel  masters." 

If  slaves  be  freed  by  the  act  of  the  Government,  and 
the  masters  thereby  discharged  from  the  care  and  re 
sponsibility  of  their  maintenance,  that  burthen  at  once 
falls  upon  the  Government.  That  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Administration.  In  his  last  message,  President  Lincoln 
said  :  "Under  and  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  Congress  entitled 
an  act  to  confiscate  property  used  for  insurrectionary  pur 
poses,  approved  August  6,  1861,  the  legal  claims  of  cer 
tain  persons  have  become  forfeited  ;  and,  numbers  of  the 
latter  thus  liberated,  are  already  dependent  upon  the 
United  States,  and  must  be  provided  for  in  someway." 
The  argument  of  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  President 
amount  to  just  this  :  By  the  authority  and  act  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  the  slaves  are  made  free  because  of  the  rebel 
lion  of  their  masters,  and  being  free,  the  Government  can 
not  exact  their  services  ;  involuntary  service  would  make 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  459 

them  slaves,  and  the  Government  can  not  hold  slaves  ; 
but  being  free  by  her  act,  they  are  dependent  upon  the 
United  States,  "  and  must  be  provided  for  in  some  way." 
That  is  the  emancipation  policy  of  the  Administration. 
As  a  war  measure  to  give  strength  to  the  North,  what  do 
you  think  of  it?  You  will  observe  we  can  not  "  exact 
service  "  from  the  manumitted  slave — he  is  to  work  or 
not  work  as  suits  his  pleasure.  That  alternative  being 
presented,  the  Negro  does  not  work.  But  he  is  to  be 
"  provided  for  in  some  way."  What  will  that  provision 
cost,  when  more  than  3,000,000  slaves  belonging  to  mas 
ters  who  go  with  the  South,  are  liberated?  That  will  de 
pend  largely  upon  the  number  of  Republican  commissa 
ries  detailed  to  the  service,  and  whether  the  present  per 
cent,  of  profit  is  continued,  and  upon  the  number  of  mis 
sionaries  that  are  sent  among  this  interesting  people,  to 
prepare  them  for  ''liberty,  equality  and  fraternity." 

But  Mr.  Lincoln  is  not  content  with  an  advocacy  of 
emancipation  by  the  United  States,  but  he  proposes  to 
encourage  the  States  to  adopt  the  same  policy.  He  goes 
on  to  say :  "  Besides  this,  it  is  not  impossible  that  some 
of  the  States  will  pass  similar  enactments  for  their  own 
benefits  respectively,  and  by  operation  of  which  persons 
of  the  same  class  will  be  thrown  upon  them  for  disposal. 
In  such  case  I  recommend  that  Congress  provide  for  ac 
cepting  such  persons  from  such  States,  according  to  some 
mode  of  valuation,  in  lieu,  -pro  lanto,  of  direct  taxes,  or 
upon  some  other  plan  to  be  agreed  on  with  such  States 
respectively  ;  that  such  persons,  on  such  acceptance  by 
the  General  Government,  be  at  once  deemed  free." 

The  proposition  amounts  to  just  this  :  The  public  ex 
penditures  are  now  so  enormous  that  a  direct  tax  is  in 
evitable  ;  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Article 
I,  Section  2,  provides  that  "  direct  taxes  shall  be  appor 
tioned  among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included 
within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  num- 


460  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

bers  ;  "  the  tax  must  be  so  apportioned  and  imposed,  but 
when  we  come  to  collect  the  taxes,  if  any  State,  as  for  in 
stance,  Kentucky,  will  free  the  negroes,  we  will  receive 
such  freed  negroes  in  payment  of  her  portion  of  the  tax, 
according  to  their  value,  to  be  ascertained  by  appraise 
ment.  A  fair  construction  of  the  Constitution  requires 
not  only  that  the  direct  tax  shall  be  imposed  upon  all  the 
States  equally,  but  that  it  shall  also  be  collected  from 
them  equally  in  proportion  to  their  numbers.  According 
to  the  President's  recommendation  Indiana  would  pay 
her  tax  in  money,  to  be  used  for  the  common  benefit ;  but 
Kentucky  might  pay  in  the  slaves  of  her  people,  at  a 
valuation,  but  as  soon  as  so  received  they  are  to  "be  at 
once  deemed  free."  Such  is  the  war  policy  of  the  Ad 
ministration,  defeating  revenue  instead  of  furnishing  it. 
But  the  question  occurs,  in  what  way  we  are  to  provide 
for  the  manumitted  slaves;  they  will  come  dependent 
upon  us,  and  "  must  be  provided  for  in  some  way,"  the 
President  says.  He  gives  us  his  plan.  After  recom 
mending  that  negroes  be  taken  from  States  in  payment 
of  the  direct  tax,  he  goes  on  to  recommend  "  that  in  any 
event  steps  be  taken  for  colonizing  both  classes  (or  the 
first  one  mentioned,  if  the  other  shall  not  be  brought  into 
existence)  at  some  place  or  places  in  a  climate  congenial 
for  them.  To  carry  out  the  plan  of  colonization  may  in 
volve  the  acquiring  of  territory,  and  also  the  appropria 
tion  of  money  beyond  that  to  be  expended  in  the  territo 
rial  acquisition."  President  Lincoln  does  not  inform  us 
on  what  part  of  the  globe  we  are  to  purchase  the  terri 
tory  for  the  free  negroes,  except  that  he  suggests  that  it 
must  be  where  the  climate  will  be  congenial. 

"  Know  ye  the  land  of  the  cedar  and  vine, 
Where  the  flower*  ever  blossom,  the  beams  ever  shine  ? 
Where  the  citrou  and  olive  are  fairest  of  fruit. 
And  the  voice  of  the  nightingale  never  is  mute; 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  461 

Where  the  tints  of  the  earth  and  the  hues  of  the  sky, 
In  color  though  varied,  in  beauty  may  vie. 
'Tis  clime  of  the  South,  'tis  land  of  the  sun." 

What  think  you  of  this  description  of  the  modern  Eden, 
the  Elysium,  which  the  President  would  have  us  buy  for 
the  weary  children  of  Africa?  But  what  is  to  be  the  cost 
of  its  acquisition?  Perhaps  only  a  few  hundred  millions. 
This  presents  the  disagreeable  and  embarrassing  sugges 
tion  which  Mr.  Lincoln  has  not  met,  that  we  may  not 
have  the  gold  on  hand  that  we  can  conveniently  spare. 
But  perhaps  we  can  buy  with  Treasury  notes,  and  they 
may  be  multiplied  as  the  leaves  on  the  trees  or  the  sands 
upon  the  seashore.  But  if  John  Bull  should  be  the  owner 
he  is  not  in  temper  with  us  just  now,  and  many  prove 
churl  enough  to  say,  I  will  keep  my  land  of  orange  groves 
where  the  nightingales  ever  sing,  rather  than  take  your 
promises  to  pay. 

Clay  and  Jackson  and  Webster,  and  statesmen  of  that 
class,  regarded  the  colonization  of  the  negroes  as  a  work 
of  such  enormous  cost  as  not  to  be  undertaken  by  the 
Government,  even  when  at  peace  and  free  from  debt;  but 
in  the  midst  of  a  civil  war,  trade  and  commerce  dis 
turbed,  our  sources  of  revenue  impaired,  with  our  in 
dustry  paralyzed,  and  a  national  debt  accumulating  at  the 
rate  of  nearly  two  millions  per  day,  the  wisdom  and  states 
manship  that  now  manage  our  public  affairs,  commends 
it  as  feasible  and  desirable.  When  we  see  such  stupend 
ous  folly  united  to  most  abandoned  corruption  and  wick 
edness,  we  can  not  too  earnestly  strive  to  rescue  the  Gov 
ernment  from  such  control. 

Emancipation,  then,  as  a  war  measure,  is  weakness 
and  not  strength,  a  burthen  and  not  a  support,  and  can 
be  adopted  only  as  a  means  of  revenge  to  destroy  the 
South,  but  not  to  restore  the  Union  ;  and  to  that  aspect 
of  the  question  I  call  your  attention. 

As  a  party,  the  Democracy  of  the  Northwest  have  not 


4f)2  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

been  sectional,  but  have  advocated  equality  of  rights  and 
privileges  to  all,  and  thus  far  have  even  conceded  that 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania  might  have  the  revenue 
policy  of  the  United  States  so  adjusted  as  to  give  them  an 
advantage  of  from  twenty  to  forty  per  cent  upon  their 
labor,  more  than  could  be  given  to  our  labor.  But  we 
are  now  being  so  crushed  that  if  we  and  our  children  are 
not  to  become  the  "  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  wa 
ter  "  for  the  capitalists  of  New  England  and  Pennsylva 
nia,  we  must  look  to  the  interests  of  our  section  ;  and  for 
the  first  time  in  my  life  I  intend  to  speak  as  a  sectional 
man. 

We  are  not  a  manufacturing  people,  and  can  not  well 
become  such  ;  our  wealth  must  come  from  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  and  of  those  heavy  and  bulky  articles  that  re 
quire  a  convenient  market  and  cheapness  of  transporta 
tion.  A  foreign  demand  will  enrich  those  regions  from 
which  there  is  convenient  and  cheap  approach  to  the 
ocean,  but  it  can  not  greatly  benefit  us  ;  our  corn  and 
wheat,  hogs  and  cattle  are  so  weighty  and  bulky  that  be 
fore  they  reach  the  sea  coast  much  of  their  value  is  lost 
in  the  cost  of  transportation  ;  and  this  must  continue,  for 
railroad  transportation  can  not  become  cheap.  The  ma 
lign  policy  of  the  party  now  in  power,  in  the  enactment  of 
the  tariff  of  last  summer,  which  in  ordinary  times  will  be 
prohibitory  and  defeat  revenue,  and  which  makes  us  buy 
at  high  prices  and  sell  at  low  prices,  and  which  will  im 
pair  our  foreign  market,  has  heretofore  been  partially  de 
feated  by  the  short  crops  in  Europe,  causing  a  larger  for 
eign  demand  for  breadstuffs  than  we  have  enjoyed  per 
haps  since  1847  ;  yet,  with  an  extraordinary  foreign  de 
mand  for  all  we  have  to  sell,  what  is  our  condition?  Com 
pare  the  present  with  our  condition  sixteen  months  since, 
and  we  have  the  answer.  Our  hogs  were  then  worth  from 
four  to  five  dollars  per  hundred  ;  they  are  now  worth  from 
two  to  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Our  corn  and  wheat 


THE    ISSUES    OF    THE    WAR.  463 

and  cattle  have  fallen  in  almost  like  proportion  ;  and 
further  to  the  West  I  understand  the  losses  are  still  greater, 
to  the  degree  that  in  some  localities  in  Illinois,  the  useful 
and  valuable  article  of  corn  is  used  as  the  cheapest  fuel.  To 
estimate  our  losses  in  Indiana  for  this  year  is  difficult, 
but  we  may  assume  upon  the  following :  upon  each  100 
pounds  $2,  and  an  average  weight  of  250  pounds  gives 
a  loss  of  $5  on  each  hog.  Upon  one  railroad  there  have 
been  shipped  100,000  head,  and  assuming  that  to  be  one- 
tenth  of  the  hogs  in  the  State,  the  entire  stock  for  the 
market  in  the  State  for  this  year  is  1,000,000,  and  our 
losses  upon  pork  $5,000,000.  It  is  probably  safe  to  as 
sume  an  equal  loss  upon  each  of  the  articles  of  corn,  wheat, 
and  other  stock,  making  the  loss  to  the  agricultural  in 
terests  of  Indiana  $20,000,000. 

These  estimates  are  not  reliable,  and  are  not  given  as 
such,  but  rather  as  illustrations.  The  main  fact  is  that 
our  losses  are  enormous.  In  the  reflective  mind  the  in 
quiry  arises,  why  is  this  so?  It  is  not  for  the  want  of  a 
foreign  demand — we  have  that  in  an  increased  degree  ; 
it  is  not  in  the  scarcity  of  money — that  is  abundant  for 
all  the  wants  of  our  trade  ;  but  the  answer  is  in  the  fact 
that  we  are  cut  off  from  our  Southern  market.  It  is  a 
striking  fact  in  contrast,  that  the  Eastern  States,  during 
the  last  nine  months,  have  accumulated  more  wealth  than 
during  the  same  time  at  any  period  of  their  history.  For 
the  want  of  the  Southern  market,  the  men  of  Indiana  lose 
nearly  one-half  the  rewards  of  their  labor.  Why  that 
market  is  of  such  value  to  us  is  apparent  from  a  moment's 
reflection  ;  the  transportation  of  our  heavy  and  bulky  pro 
ducts  upon  the  rivers  is  easy  and  cheap — it  is  the  interest 
of  the  South  mainly  to  employ  her  labor  in  the  production 
of  rice,  sugar,  hemp,  tobacco  and  cotton — articles  which 
we  do  not  produce — and  to  depend  upon  and  buy  from 
us  the  productions  of  our  lands  and  labor.  To  encourage 
and  stimulate  the  people  of  the  South  in  the  production 


464  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

of  their  peculiar  commodities,  that  they  may  be  large  buy 
ers  from  us,  has  been  and,  so  long  as  "  grass  grows  and 
water  runs,"  will  be  the  true  interest  of  the  Northwest; 
and  that  political  party  that  would  destroy  that  market  is 
our  greatest  foe. 

Most  earnestly,  then,  do  I  call  upon  the  men  of  Indi 
ana  to  consider  what  President  Lincoln  seems  to  favor, 
what  Cameron  urges,  what  the  Republican  members  of 
Congress,  in  caucus,  have  determined  upon,  and  what 
bills  now  pending  in  Congress  contemplate,— the  freedom 
of  the  Negroes  in  the  rebel  States,  in  a  word  the  destruc 
tion  of  Southern  labor  and  the  ruin,  forever,  of  our  rich 
trade  and  the  value  of  our  products. 

Impelled  by  a  false  philanthropy,  England  has  made 
her  rich  islands  a  luxuriant  waste  and  wilderness,  *the 
trade  of  which  is  worth  no  more  than  one  of  the  jewels 
in  the  Queen's  crown.  Are  we  now,  who  have  for  our 
selves  and  the  generations  yet  to  come  such  important 
interests  involved,  to  consent  to  such  policy  towards  the 
great  and  fertile  regions  upon  the  Gulf  of  Mexico? 

The  first  and  highest  interest  of  the  Northwest  is  in  the 
restoration  and  preservation  of  the  Union  upon  the  basis 
of  the  Constitution,  and  the  deep  devotion  of  her  Dem 
ocracy  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  is  shown  by  its  fidelity 
in  the  past ;  but  if  the  failure  and  folly  and  wickedness 
of  the  party  in  power  render  a  union  impossible,  then 
the  mighty  Northwest  must  take  care  of  herself  and  her 
own  interests.  She  must  not  allow  the  arts  and  finesse 
of  New  England  to  despoil  her  of  her  richest  commerce 
and  trade,  and  to  render  her  labor  wholly  subservient  to 
an  Eastern,  sectional,  and  selfish  policy — Eastern  lust  of 
power,  commerce,  and  gain. 

I  know  the  potent  appeal  that  has  been  made  to  our 
prejudice,  upon  the  charge  that  slave  labor  is  in  compe 
tition  with  the  free  labor  of  the  North  ;  but  I  know  also 
that  it  is  not  founded  in  fact.  The  cultivation  of  rice, 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  465 

sugar,  cotton,  tobacco,  and  hemp  is  not  in  competition 
with  our  labor,  but  in  aid  and  support  of  it.  With  the 
gold  which  the  Southerner  receives  for  the  sale  of  his 
crops  he  purchases  our  products,  and  thus  secures  to  our 
labor  its  high  rewards.  But  if  we  disturb  the  institutions 
as  our  fathers  approved  them — if  we  free  the  negroes  of 
the  South,  what  are  the  consequences  upon  us?  Large 
numbers  of  the  negroes  would  seek  the  North,  expecting 
to  meet  a  peculiar  sympathy,  and  one  of  two  results 
would  follow ;  either  they  would  not  work,  and  thus  be 
supported  out  of  the  earnings  of  our  labor,  or  they  would 
come  directly  in  competition  with  our  labor ;  and  being 
of  an  inferior  class,  and  not  competent  to  do  as  much 
work,  nor  do  it  as  well  as  the  white  man,  our  labor  would 
be  degraded  and  cheapened  ;  and  the  white  man  would 
be  driven  to  seek  employment  in  competition  with  the 
negro,  and  to  accept  as  the  reward  of  his  labor,  the 
standard  of  prices  which  that  competition  would  fix. 


IV.    ON  RECONSTRUCTION. 

SPEECH   IN    REPLY   TO   SENATOR   OLIVER   P.  MORTON, 

United  States  Senate,  Washington,  January  30, 1868. 

Mr.  President :  The  policy  and  measures  of  Congress 
in  relation  to  the  South  are  maintained  in  this  debate 
upon  two  propositions  :  First,  that  at  the  end  of  the  war 
there  were  no  governments  of  any  kind  existing  in  those 
States  ;  and  second,  that  in  such  case  Congress  has  the 
power,  under  the  clause  of  the  Constitution  which  declared 
that  the  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in 
this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  to  recon 
struct  the  State  governments,  or,  in  plain  words,  to  make 
30 


466        SELECTED  SPEECHES  AND  WRITINGS. 

new  governments.  These  propositions  I  deny.  First,  I 
deny  that  at  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  no  State 
governments  in  the  Southern  States.  What  was  the  exact 
fact  in  regard  to  that  matter?  No  one  disputes  that,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  there  were  legal  State 
governments  in  the  ten  States  now  excluded  from  repre 
sentation.  Those  governments  were  organized  under 
constitutions  which  the  people  had  adopted.  I  submit  to 
Senators,  then,  as  a  question  of  law,  what  became  of  the 
constitutions  of  the  States  in  force  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war?  A  State  constitution  is  the  bond  of  organiza 
tion  ;  not  only  the  bond  of  political  organization  in  the 
State,  but,  to  some  extent,  the" bond  that  holds  it  to  the 
Federal  Union.  I  do  not  very  clearly  understand  how  a 
State  can  be  in  the  Union  without  a  State  government. 
I  do  understand  that,  if  a  State  should  cease  to  have  a 
government — if  I  may  so  express  what  seems  to  be  a 
paradox — the  people  would  be  under  the  law  and 
authority  of  the  Federal  Government  to  the  extent  of 
jurisdiction  of  that  government.  But,  sir,  a  State  to  be 
a  State  in  the  Union  must  have  a  political  organization. 
The  people  of  the  Territories  owe  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  but  the  Territories  are  not  organized 
States,  and  form  no  part,  as  States,  of  the  Federal  Union. 
Then,  sir,  when  a  State  constitution  is  once  formed,  and 
the  State  under  that  constitution  is  admitted  into  the 
Union,  that  State  organization  is  not  a  separate  and  in 
dependent  thing,  but  in  its  organization  becomes  a  part 
of  the  Federal  Union.  The  constitution  of  the  State, 
when  the  State  has  been  thus  admitted,  becomes  a  part 
of  the  national  union  and  compact ;  and  I  deny  that  the 
people  of  that  State  have  a  right  to  destroy  their  State 
government,  and  thus  cease  to  be  within  the  Union.  I 
deny  that  the  convention  of  the  people,  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  or  any  assemblage  of  the  people  whatever, 
can  voluntarily  terminate  the  existence  of  a  State  govern- 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  467 

ment,  and  thus  cut  off  their  connection  with  the  Federal 
Union.  That,  in  my  judgment,  can  only  be  accomplished 
with  the  consent  of  all  the  States.  Take  the  case  of 
Louisiana.  The  people  formed  her  State  government ; 
under  that  government  and  constitution  she  was  admitted 
into  the  Union.  In  that  constitution  of  hers — subject,  of 
course,  to  her  amendment  and  her  modification, — is  it  not 
a  part  of  the  Federal  system  when  she  is  admitted?  And 
is  it  possible  that  bond  of  society,  that  means  of  politi 
cal  organization,  can  cease  to  exist  so  that  there  is  no 
longer  any  State  of  Louisiana?  Sir,  if  the  State  govern 
ment  ceased  to  exist  in  any  State  of  the  South,  if  the 
constitution  of  any  State  ceased  to  be  a  constitution,  I 
want  to  know  by  what  act  it  occurred.  Was  it  the  ordi 
nance  of  secession?  Every  Senator  will  say  "  no  "  ;  that 
no  ordinance  of  secession  could  destroy  the  State  consti 
tution,  because  the  ordinance  itself  in  law  and  in  the  eye 
of  the  Constitution  is  a  nullity.  Was  it  the  war?  War 
was  not  made  upon  the  organization  of  the  States.  War 
was  not  made  upon  the  constitution  and  laws  of  any  State  ; 
but  only  for  the  purpose  of  holding  those  States,  under 
their  organization,  in  the  Federal  Union,  and  the  people 
of  those  States  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  United 
States. 

Then,  sir,  I  deny  that  the  act  of  any  State  or  the  peo 
ple  thereof  intended  to  separate  that  State  from  the  Fed 
eral  Union,  had  any  force  or  validity  whatever.  I  main 
tain  that  during  all  the  years  of  the  rebellion,  every  single 
act  of  a  Southern  State,  intended  to  promote  the  cause  of 
the  rebellion,  was  void  ;  that  it  had  no  effect  to  destroy 
State  institutions.  I  deny  that  any  act  of  the  State  could 
have  the  effect  to  disturb,  as  a  question  of  law,  the  rela 
tion  of  the  State  to  the  Federal  Union.  Practically  the 
relations  were  disturbed  ;  practically  the  State  was  not 
in  harmony  with  the  Federal  Government ;  but  its  exist 
ence  as  a  State,  its  organization  as  a  State,  its  Consti- 


468  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

tution,  which  was  the  bond  of  its  organization,  continued 
all  the  way  through  the  war ;  and  when  peace  came  it 
found  the  State  with  its  Constitution  and  laws  unrepealed 
and  in  full  force,  holding  that  State  to  the  Federal  Union, 
except  all  laws  enacted  in  aid  of  the  rebellion. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  wish  briefly  to  consider  the  clause 
of  the  Constitution  which  has  been  referred  to  so  fre 
quently,  making  it  the  duty  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  to  guarantee  every  State  in  the  Union  a 
republican  form  of  government.  I  think  this  is  the  right 
construction  ;  it  is  an  obligation  and  a  duty  imposed  upon 
the  Government,  and  I  argue  writh  my  colleague  \vhen  he 
says,  that  the  Legislative  department  is  not  the  Govern 
ment  ;  the  Executive  department,  separately,  is  not  the 
Government ;  nor  is  the  Judiciary  the  Government ;  but 
the  whole  taken  together,  in  the  proper  exercise  of  the 
powers  conferred  by  the  Constitution,  makes  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States.  When  a  duty  is  imposed  upon 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  that  duty  must  be 
discharged  by  the  appropriate  department  of  the  Govern 
ment.  If  the  act  which  must  be  done  in  the  discharge 
of  the  duty  imposed  by  the  Constitution  is  a  judicial  act, 
then  the  duty  is  upon  the  Judiciary  ;  if  it  be  a  legislative 
act,  the  duty  is  upon  the  Legislative  department ;  and  if 
it  be  an  executive  act,  the  duty  then  rests  upon  the  Ex 
ecutive,  and  must  be  discharged  by  that  department  of 
the  Government. 

So,  sir,  I  hold  that  this  clause  of  the  Constitution  is 
addressed  to  each  department  of  the  Government.  This 
clause  contemplates  an  existing  State  government,  re 
publican  in  form.  It  speaks  of  State  governments  as  in 
existence.  If  Senators  will  observe  the  language  of  the 
section  itself,  they  will  find  after  the  words  which  I  have 
quoted,  imposing  on  this  Government  the  duty  of  guaran 
teeing  to  every  State  a  republican  form  of  government, 
the  provision  goes  on :  "And  shall  protect  each  State 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  469 

against  invasion,  and,  on  application  of  the  Legislature 
or  the  Executive — when  the  Legislature  can  not  be  con 
vened, — against  domestic  violence." 

The  section  speaks  of  an  organized  State  government, 
a  government  with  an  Executive  and  a  Legislative  depart 
ment,  and  imposes  upon  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  duties  to  be  discharged  when  called  upon  by  the 
Executive  or  Legislative  department  of  the  State.  So  that 
the  very  clause  itself  contemplates  an  existing  State  gov 
ernment,  republican  in  form,  and  simply  imposes  upon 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  the  duty  to  protect, 
maintain,  and  defend  that  republican  form  of  government. 

This  word  "  guarantee  "  does  not  confer  an  original 
power  either  in  its  legal  sense  or  common  meaning.  It 
means  to  maintain  or  assure  that  which  is  already  in  ex 
istence.  And  this  was  the  view  taken  by  the  fathers  who 
had  much  to  do  in  the  formation  of  the  Constitution. 
Madison,  Hamilton,  and  Storey  have  all  said  that  this 
clause  contemplates  a  pre-existing  State  government, 
republican  in  form ,  and  that  it  simply  confers  upon  the  Gen 
eral  Government  the  power  and  imposes  the  duty  of  pro 
tecting  that  republican  form  of  government  to  the  State. 
In  the  nature  of  the  provision  itself,  in  the  scope,  force, 
and  meaning  of  the  language  used,  and  according  to  con 
temporaneous  construction  it  confers  upon  the  General 
Government  no  power  to  make  a  State,  or  to  control  the 
people  in  that  work.  It  is  the  high  prerogative  and  busi 
ness  of  the  people  to  make  State  governments.  No 
State  government  can  come  into  existence  at  the  will  and 
nod  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not 
within  your  power.  The  Constitution  has  not  said  you 
might  do  it,  and  the  whole  practice  of  our  Government 
is  to  recognize  State  governments  when  they  have  been 
made  by  the  people. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  claim  that  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  most 
express  terms,  in  most  emphatic  language,  in  language 


470  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

at  the  same  time  somewhat  offensive  to  his  own  party, 
held  the  same  doctrine  ;  and  I  call  the  attention  of  the 
Senators  to  the  proclamation  to  which  I  refer.  In  the 
first  place,  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  the  8th  of  December,  1863, 
issued  a  proclamation,  first,  of  general  amnesty  to  those 
who  would  take  a  prescribed  oath,  and  then  assuring  them 
that  if  the  people  of  these  States  would  reorganize  State 
governments  loyal  in  their  character,  the  Executive  would 
respect,  and,  under  this  clause  of  the  Constitution,  would 
guarantee  these  governments.  Here  is  his  language, 
not  calling  upon  Congress  as  his  source  of  power  for  the 
action  of  the  people,  but  appealing  directly  to  the  people, 
independently  of  Congress.  He  says  that,  if  they  will 
reorganize  their  State  governments,  "  such  shall  be  recog 
nized  as  the  true  government  of  the  State,  and  the  State 
shall  receive  thereunder  the  benefits  of  the  constitutional 
provision  which  declares  that  the  '  United  States  shall 
guarantee  to  every  State  in  the  Union  a  republican  form 
of  government,'  "  etc. 

In  this  connection  it  is  proper  for  me  to  say  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  declared  in  that  proclamation  that  the  Executive 
recognition  of  the  State  government  would  not  be  bind 
ing  upon  Congress  on  the  single  question  of  the  admis 
sion  of  Senators  and  Representatives,  for  the  reason  that 
the  judge  of  their  qualifications  was,  by  the  Constitution, 
left  expressly  to  each  branch  of  Congress.  But,  sir,  I 
now  come  to  the  most  emphatic  declaration  that  Mr.  Lin 
coln  has  made  on  this  subject,  and  after  which  you  ought 
not  to  have  elected  him  President,  if  your  laws  now  stand 
upon  the  true  construction  of  the  Constitution.  The 
Winter  Davis  bill  passed  on  the  last  day  or  two  of  the  first 
session  of  the  thirty-eighth  Congress.  It  provided  a 
legislative  mode  of  reorganization,  a  legislative  policy, 
and  Mr.  Lincoln  put  that  bill  in  his  pocket.  Instead  of 
acting  under  that  bill,  he  threw  it  back  in  the  face  of  Con- 
oress,  and  said  that  Congress  should  not  tie  his  hands  to 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  471 

any  particular  mode  of  reorganization.  Here  is  his  proc 
lamation,  dated  on  the  8th  day  of  July,  1864,  after  you 
had  re-nominated  him,  but  before  you  had  re-elected 
him.  Mr.  Lincoln  recites  in  the  first  place  the  passage 
of  the  Winter  Davis  bill,  and  in  his  proclamation  he  says 
that  the  proposed  mode  was  agreeable  to  him,  that  he 
liked  the  plan  well  enough,  but  he  goes  on  to  say  :  "  Now, 
therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  do  proclaim,  declare,  and  make  known  that,  while 
I  am — as  I  was  in  December  last,  when  by  proclamation 
1  propounded  a  plan  for  restoration — unprepared  by  a 
formal  approval  of  this  bill,  to  be  inflexibly  committed  to 
any  single  plan  of  restoration.11 

Because  he  was  not  willing  to  be  bound  to  any  plan, 
therefore  he  would  not  approve  the  congressional  plan  by 
signing  the  bill ;  and  he  further  declared  if  the  people 
would  act  according  to  the  plan  proposed  by  Congress  he 
would  recognize  their  action,  not  because  Congress  had 
proposed  it,  but  because  he,  as  the  Executive  of  the 
United  States,  judging  for  himself  under  the  Constitution, 
had  a  right  to  prescribe  a  plan  of  restoration ;  and  so  he 
held  that  Congress  should  not  do  it,  that  his  hands  should 
not  be  tied  by  any  act  of  Congress. 

After  Mr.  Lincoln  had  declared  this  doctrine  in  this 
proclamation,  he  was  re-elected  President  of  the  United 
States.  Now,  I  ask  Senators,  when  your  party  elected 
him  President,  was  there  any  more  important  question 
before  the  country  than  the  question  of  reconstruction, 
as  you  call  it — restoration,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  called  it?  You 
claimed  that  the  war  was  about  to  close,  and  the  great 
question  of  the  Nation,  the  great  question  of  the  age,  was, 
how  shall  these  States  be  brought  into  harmony  and  into 
practical  relations  with  the  Government  of  the  United 
States?  He  declared  that  Congress  should  not  fix  a  plan, 
that  he  intended  to  be  left  free  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
to  adopt  whatever  plan,  according  to  his  judgment, 


472  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

might  seem  to  be  right ;  and  after  he  proclaimed  that  to 
you  and  this  nation,  you  re-elected  him  President  and 
said  it  was  right.     Now  you  say  State  governments  do 
not  exist  in  the  South.     He  did  not  use  the  term  "  recon 
struction  ;  "  he  said  "  restoration."     He  recognized  these 
States  as  existing  with  valid  forms  of  government ;  and 
the  simple  question  was,  in  his  own  language,  their  res 
toration  in  their  practical  relations  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States.  But,  Mr.  President,  Congress  is  conclu 
sive  upon  this  question.     You  say  that  rebellion,  seces 
sion,— that  war  put  an  end  to  State  governments  in  the 
South,  and  that  there  is  no  power  to  restore  State  govern 
ments,  except  in  Congress.     That  is  your  doctrine  to-day 
as  proclaimed  in  your  legislation.     Let  us  see  what  you 
did,  and  if  you  have  stood  consistently  upon  that  doctrine. 
In  the  month  of  December,  1864,  the  Executive  Commit 
tee  of  Middle  Tennessee  issued  a  call  to  the  people  of 
Tennessee  for  a  State  Convention  "  to  take  steps  as  wis 
dom  may  direct  to  restore  the  State  of  Tennessee  to  its 
once  honored  status  in  the  Great  National  Union."    That 
was  the  purpose  of  the  call.     It  is  signed  by  Tillman, 
Spence,  Byram,  Laselle,  and  Fowler  I  believe,   the  dis 
tinguished  Senator  who  is  now  of  our  body.     These  gen 
tlemen  did  not  undertake  to  call  the  Convention  under 
any  authority  of  law,  but  as  an  executive  political  com 
mittee  they  called  the  people  together  to  meet  at  Nash 
ville  to  consider  what  steps  ought  to  be  taken  to  restore 
Tennessee  to  her  proper  relations  to  the  Government  of 
the   United  States.     Mark  you,  Mr.  President,  that  was 
after  Tennessee  had  passed   an  ordinance  of  secession  ; 
that  was  after  she  had  sent  her  regiments  into  the  South 
ern  army.     After  she  had  done  every  act  that  a  State 
could  do,  or  the  people  of  a  State  could  do,  in  hostility  to 
the   Government  of  the  United  States,   and  before  Con 
gress    had    authorized    any    restoration,    this    Executive 
Committee  called   a  Convention   to   meet  at  Nashville. 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  473 

That  Convention  did  meet  at  Nashville,  January  or  Feb 
ruary,  1865,  anc^  tney  adopted  certain  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  State  of  Tennessee.  They  did  not  un 
dertake  to  make  a  new  Constitution.  They  recognized 
the  old  Constitution  as  still  in  force.  Tennessee  had  a 
Constitution  which  held  her  to  this  Union  when  she  went 
into  the  war,  and  when  the  Convention  met  at  Nashville — 
a  political  Convention,  if  you  please — it  resolved  itself 
into  a  Constitutional  State  Convention,  and  did  not  un 
dertake  to  make  a  new  Constitution,  but,  recognizing  the 
old  Constitution  as  valid  and  binding  still,  they  added 
amendments  to  it. 

The  amendments  were  abolishing  slavery  and  some 
other  provisions — the  amendments,  not  the  Constitution 
— and  they  voted  upon  them,  not  by  any  congressional 
authority,  but  by  virtue  of  the  sovereignty  that  lies  in  the 
people  of  a  State  to  amend  their  own  Constitution.  They 
amended  the  Constitution.  What  has  Congress  done 
upon  that  subject?  Did  you  say  to  Tennessee  "Your 
government  has  gone  out  like  a  candle  that  is  burnt  out "  ? 
Did  you  say  to  Tennessee  that  at  the  close  of  the  war  she 
had  no  Constitution  and  nothing  to  amend?  Did  you  say 
to  the  State  of  Tennessee,  "  War  has  destroyed  your 
State  government ;  you  are  without  any  organization, 
and  we  will  not  recognize  your  action.  You  must  get 
your  power  and  authority  from  the  great  source  of  au 
thority — the  Congress  of  the  United  States."  No,  sir, 
you  did  not  say  that  to  Tennessee  ;  but  then,  without 
reference  to  party  politics,  you  were  casting  a  vote  which 
your  judgment  and  consciences  approved, and  what  did 
you  say?  Representation  in  this  state  of  the  case  was 
allowed  to  Tennessee  by  a  joint  resolution  approved  July 
24,  1866,  not  two  years  ago  ;  and  in  the  preamble  you 
gave  the  reasons  why  you  admitted  Tennessee.  Rea 
sons  come  up  to  trouble  people  sometimes,  and  these  rea 
sons  come  up  to  meet  you  in  the  face  of  this  legislation 


474  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

which  undertakes  to  base  the  power  of  Congress  upon 
the  proposition,  that  the  Southern  States  ceased  to  have 
governments  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Here  is  what  you  say  in  the  preamble.     After  reciting 
that  this   amendment   to  the   Constitution  of  Tennessee, 
abolishing  slavery,  was  adopted  by  a  large  popular  vote, 
you  say:   "And,  whereas,  a  State  government  has  been 
organized  under  said  Constitution,  which  has  ratified  the 
amendment   to    the    Constitution    of  the    United    States 
abolishing  slavery,  also  the  amendment  proposed  by  the 
Thirty-ninth  Congress,  and  has  done  other  acts  proclaim 
ing  and   denoting  loyalty,  therefore—"     There,  sir,  you 
recognize   the  old   Constitution  of  Tennessee,  that  Con 
stitution  which  had  come  through  the  din  and  smoke  of 
war.     You  recognized  that,  as   the  people   in  the   most 
formal  manner  had  amended  it ;  and  you  said  because  of 
that  State  government   they  had  the   right  to   be   repre 
sented  here.     You  had  not  conferred   the  power.     You 
say  now  that  the  people  do  not  possess  it,  that  the  Exe 
cutive  does  not  possess  it,  and  that  you  must   confer  the 
power  because  there  are   no  governments  in  the  South  ; 
and  yet  you  have  admitted  Senators  from  Tennessee  upon 
the  doctrine  that   the   people,  independent   of  Congress, 
could  amend  the  Constitution  ;  and  that  thus  amended,  the 
old  Constitution,  the  bond  of  union  which,  as  a  ligament, 
held  the  State  to  the  United  States,  made  that  State  gov 
ernment  valid.     Aye,  sir,  you  went  further.     You  say  in 
the  preamble,  that  the  State  government  in  Tennessee, 
long  before  any  congressional  recognition,  did  the  high 
est,  most  important,  and  solemn  act  that  a  State  govern 
ment  can  perform  ;  that  it  ratified   an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.     That  power  which  is 
conferred  upon  the  State  Legislatures  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  you  say  Tennessee  exercised,  after 
she  had  made  flagrant  war   against   the   United   States, 
and  before  Congress  had   recognized  her ;  that  she  had 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  475 

exercised  this  power  successfully,  and,  therefore,  she  had 
a  valid,  legitimate  State  government.  But  you  say  a  State 
Legislature  can  ratify  a  constitutional  amendment,  but  it 
can  not  legally  choose  Senators  to  sit  here.  That  will 
not  do,  Senators.  Everybody  knows  that  will  not  do. 
******** 

Then,  Mr.  President,  I  assume  that  the  power  and 
duty  of  guarantying  to  the  States  republican  forms  of 
government  is  with,  and  rests  upon  the  Executive,  in  any 
and  every  case  where  the  Executive  is  called  upon  to 
deal  with  the  question,  and  that  when  the  war  closed  the 
President  was  called  upon  to  deal  with  the  question ;  for 
it  became  his  duty  to  see  that  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  were  executed  in  the  Southern  States,  and  that 
they  were  in  proper  practical  relations  with  the  United 
States. 

What  then  was  the  condition  of  the  Sonth?  Was  order 
so  far  restored,  and  did  the  people  yield  such  obedience 
to  law  and  respect  to  the  authority  of  government,  as 
justified  the  President  in  withdrawing  the  military  power, 
that  the  civil  authority  might  once  more  prevail?  In  his 
testimony,  given  in  July  last,  before  the  Impeachment 
Committee  of  the  House,  General  Grant  said  :  "  I  know 
that  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  rebellion  there  was 
a  very  fine  feeling  manifested  in  the  South,  and  I  thought 
we  ought  to  take  advantage  of  it  as  soon  as  possible." 
And  he  adds  :  "  But  since  that  time  there  has  been  an 
evident  change  there." 

In  his  letter  to  the  President,  of  the  i8th  of  December, 
i865,  many  months  after  the  close  of  the  war,  many 
months  after  Mr.  Johnson  had  adopted  his  policy,  Gen 
eral  Grant  said : 

"  Both  in  traveling  and  while  stopping,  I  saw  much, 
and  conversed  freely  with  the  citizens  of  those  States, 
as  well  as  with  officers  of  the  army  who  have  been 
among  them.  The  following  are  the  conclusions  come 


476  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS, 

to  by  me :  I  am  satisfied  that  the  mass  of  thinking  men 
of  the  South  accept  the  present  situation  of  affairs  in  good 
faith.  The  questions  which  have  heretofore  divided  the 
sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  two  sections — slavery  and 
State  rights,  or  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede  from  the 
Union — they  regard  as  having  been  settled  forever  by 
the  highest  tribunal — arms — that  man  can  resort  to.  I 
was  pleased  to  learn  from  the  leading  men  whom  I  met, 
that  they  not  only  accepted  the  decision  arrived  at  as 
final ;  but  that,  now  the  smoke  of  battle  has  cleared  away 
and  time  has  been  given  for  reflection,  this  decision 
has  been  a  fortunate  one  for  the  whole  country,  they  re 
ceiving  the  like  benefits  from  it  with  those  who  opposed, 
them  in  the  field  and  in  the  cause.  *  * 

"  My  observations  lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
citizens  of  the  Southern  States  are  anxious  to  return  to 
self-government  within  the  Union  as  soon  as  possible  ; 
that  while  reconstructing,  they  want  and  require  protec 
tion  from  the  Government ;  that  they  are  in  earnest  in 
wishing  to  do  what  they  think  is  required  by  the  Gov 
ernment,  not  humiliating  to  them  as  citizens,  and  that  if 
such  a  course  was  pointed  out  they  would  pursue  it  in 
good  faith.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  can  not  be  a 
greater  commingling  at  this  time  between  the  citizens  of 
the  two  sections,  and  particularly  of  those  intrusted  with 
the  law-making  power." 

That  is  the  description  of  the  condition  of  the  South 
given  by  General  Grant,  at  the  very  time  the  President 
of  the  United  States  was  welcoming  these  States  back  again 
in  all  their  practical  relations  to  the  United  States.  Now, 
sir,  upon  this  subject  I  beg  leave  to  read  the  testimony  of 
my  distinguished  colleague  given  at  about  the  same  time, 
at  the  close  of  the  month  of  September,  in  the  speech  to 
which  I  have  already  referred.  My  colleague  says  :  "  I 
desire  in  the  first  place  to  remark,  that  to  me  the  general 
condition  of  the  country  is  most  promising  and  favor- 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  477 

able."  Mark  you,  this  is  the  testimony  of  my  colleague 
when  Mr.  Johnson  had  consummated  his  policy  of  res 
toration.  "  I  know  there  are  those  who  take  gloomy 
views  of  what  is  called  the  work  of  reconstruction,  but  to 
me  the  prospect  seems  highly  encouraging.  The  war 
terminated  suddenly,  and  the  submission  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  the  Southern  States  has  been  more  com 
plete  and  sudden  than  I  had  expected." 

Here,  Mr.  President,  is  the  testimony  of  my  colleague, 
who  had  intimate  relations  with  the  South  as  the  Gover 
nor  of  the  State  of  Indiana, — testimony  given  at  the  time — 
that  the  people  had  acquiesced  in  the  result  of  the  war, 
that  their  condition  of  obedience  to  the  law  in  respect  to 
the  Government  was  more  encouraging  than  he  had  ex 
pected.  What  a  strange  contrast  does  this  testimony  of 
my  colleague,  given  at  the  time,  bear  to  the  remarkable 
speech  to  which  we  have  just  listened  from  the  Senator 
from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  Cragin].  If  it  were  cour 
teous  and  in  senatorial  language,  I  would  say  that 
scarcely  any  of  the  statements  of  fact  contained  in  that 
speech  are  entitled  to  the  credit  and  the  confidence  of  the 
country.  Since  this  world  began  no  community  had  been 
so  misrepresented,  so  uniformly  and  foully  belied  as  the 
men  of  the  South,  who  have  sought,  under  Mr.  Johnson's 
policy,  to  bring  the  States  again  into  practical  and  har 
monious  relations  with  the  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

Then,  Mr.  President,  this  is  the  evidence  of  what  was 
the  condition  of  Southern  society  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
The  war  had  done  its  work.  The  South  was  conquered, 
to  use  the  language  of  the  majority,  subjugated  if  you 
please.  They  yielded  obedience  to  law,  they  acquiesced 
in  the  authority  of  the  Government ;  and  General  Grant 
said  that  he  felt  that  it  was  our  duty  to  take  advantage  of 
this  favorable  condition  of  the  popular  mind  of  the  South. 
To  take  advantage  of  it  for  what  purpose?  To  get  these 


478  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

people  back  again,  to  place  the  States  once  more  in  har 
monious  and  practical  relations  with  the  Government. 
Finding  this  favorable  condition  of  the  country,  Mr.  John 
son,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  proceeded  to  his 
work  of  restoration.     He  issued  his  proclamation  of  May 
29,  1865,  to  which  I  now  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate. 
He  does  not  assume  to  possess  the  power  of  making  State 
governments.     He,  as  Military  Governor  of  Tennessee, 
had  issued  his  proclamation  declaring  that  the  people,  by 
virtue  of  their  inherent  right  and  power,  had   amended 
the  Constitution  of  that  State  ;  and,  upon  that  very  doc 
trine  of  the  right  and  power  of  the  people  to  amend  their 
Constitution,  he  issued  his  proclamation  of  May  29,  1865. 
In  the  first  place,  I  will  state  that  he  directed  each  of  the 
departments  to   extend  its  operations  into  the   Southern 
States.     Then  he  goes  on  with  the  work  of  providing  for 
restoration;  and  what  new  positions  does  he  lay  down? 
First,  he  recognizes  the   old  State  government  of  North 
Carolina,  just  as  he  had  done  in  Tennessee,  just  as  Con 
gress  did  in  admitting  Tennessee  with  the  recitals  in  the 
preamble ;  for,  after   appointing   a  Provisional  Governor 
and  giving  him  instructions,  he  says:     "A  convention, 
composed  of  delegates  to  be  chosen  by  that  portion  of  the 
people  of  said  State  who  were  loyal  to  the  United  States, 
and  no  others,  for  the  purpose  of  altering  or  amending 
the  Constitution  thereof."     Not  for  the  purpose  of  making 
i\  new  State  government,  nor  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  new  constitution,  but  for  altering  or  amending  that  con 
stitution  which    has  come  down    through  the  war,  that 
constitution  which,  as  a  ligament,  as  I  said  before,  held 
the   State  of  North  Carolina  as  an  organized    political 
community  to  the  Union. 

Next  he  recognizes  the  authority  of  the  people  :  "And 
with  authority  to  exercise  within  the  limits  of  said 
State,  all  the  powers  necessary  and  proper  to  enable 
such  loyal  people  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  to  re- 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  479 

store  said  State  to  its  constitutional  relation  to  the  Fed 
eral  Government."  Not  to  place  it  in  a  shape  where 
Congress  might  restore  the  practical  relations,  but  to 
enable  the  people  themselves  to  do  this  great  work.  Two 
vears  ago,  and  I  then  had  the  assent  to  my  proposition 
by  the  nod  of  the  distinguished  Senator  from  Ohio 
[Mr.  Wade],  I  expressed  as  my  opinion,  which  I  hold 
yet,  that  by  virtue  of  this  constitutional  obligation  to 
guarantee  a  republican  form  of  government,  it  is  compe 
tent  for  the  United  States,  through  the  proper  depart 
ment,  to  do  what  will  enable  the  people  to  exercise  their 
sovereignty  of  amending  their  constitution,  and  bringing 
it  into  practical  relations  to  the  United  States.  The 
President  proclaimed,  that  when  the  people  themselves 
have  thus  amended  their  constitution  and  placed  it  in 
harmony  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  it 
will  be  recognized  by  the  Executive  Department. 

His  purpose  then  was  to  aid  the  people,  to  give  them 
the  support  of  an  organization,  just  as  Congress,  without 
any  constitutional  provision  on  the  subject,  gives  the 
people  of  a  Territory  an  enabling  act ;  not  because  Con 
gress  has  the  power  as  an  original  thing  to  establish  a 
territorial  government,  but  because  Congress  has  the 
power  to  admit  new  States  into  the  Union,  Congress  may 
do  that  which  will  enable  the  people  to  form  State  gov 
ernments.  So  the  Executive  in  this  case,  in  my  judg 
ment,  very  properly  did  that  which  would  enable  the 
people  to  bring  their  State  into  practical  relations  with 
the  Government.  My  colleague  and  others  have  said, 
that  Mr.  Johnson  regarded  this  government  which  was  to 
be  established  in  North  Carolina  as  provisional.  There 
is  a  mistake  right  here,  and  a  very  serious  one.  The 
President  in  his  proclamation,  and  everywhere  recog 
nizes  the  authority  of  Governor  Holden  as  provisional,  as 
temporary,  that  his  power  was  to  be  but  for  a  time  ;  but 
until  what  time?  Until  the  time  that  the  people,  exercis- 


480  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ing  their  original  sovereignty,  could  act,  and  place  their 
State  government  in  proper  shape.  That  government 
that  the  people  were  to  re-organize  was  not  to  be  provi 
sional.  It  was  to  be  as  enduring  as  the  people  could 
make  any  government.  He  did  not  contemplate  that  it 
was  to  be  provisional.  He  contemplated  that  it  should 
be  perpetual.  He  authorized  the  Governor  to  aid  the 
people  in  amending  their  constitution,  and,  when  the 
amendment  should  be  adopted,  what  was  the  effect  of  it? 
Did  he  contemplate  that  an  organic  law  of  the  State  was 
but  temporary?  Does  any  Senator  attribute  any  such 
folly  to  the  President?  No,  sir  ;  the  government  that  was 
provisional  in  North  Carolina  was  the  authority  of  the 
Government.  As  soon  as  the  people  acted  and  amended 
their  State  Constitution  then  the  work  was  done  ;  the  pro 
visional  Governor  ceased  to  have  any  authority;  and 
firmly  fixed,  the  State  was  once  more  in  practical  rela 
tions  with  the  Federal  Government. 

Mr.  President,  I  can  not  understand  why  Senators  have 
made  such  war  against  Mr.  Johnson  because  he  did  this. 
I  do  not  understand  it.  I  take  it  Senators  are  just,  that 
they  bring  no  railing  accusation  against  the  President.  I 
have  heretofore  said,  and  I  now  repeat,  that  I  am  no  par 
tisan  defender  of  the  President ;  but  I  defend  the  Presi 
dent  when  I  think  he  is  right,  because  I  claim  to  be  a  just 
man.  I  want  to  know  of  Senators,  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
issued  his  proclamation  of  the  8th  of  December,  1862,  in 
which  he  placed  this  power  in  the  Executive,  and  after 
you  elected  him  upon  that  doctrine,  how  can  you  say  that 
Mr.  Johnson  is  wrong  in  doing  the  same  thing?  After 
the  proclamation  of  the  8th  of  December,  1863,  and  after 
the  proclamation  of  July,  1864,  when  he  threw  back  into 
your  faces  the  congressional  plan  of  restoration,  and  said 
he  would  be  bound  by  no  such  policy,  but  that  his  hands 
should  be  free  to  the  close  of  the  war  to  aid  the  people  in 
bringing  themselves  into  relations  with  the  Government 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  481 

upon  such  plan  as  he  thought  was  best — after  all  that  you 
—I  speak  with  respect  to  the  majority  of  this  body — you 
said  to  your  supporters  at  home  that  that  policy  was  right. 
You  can  not  vote  it  and  then  come  into  the  Senate  and 
denounce  it.  If  it  was  right  in  Mr.  Lincoln  to  do  it,  it  is 
not  wrong  for  Mr.  Johnson  ;  and,  as  a  just  man,  although 
I  did  not  help  to  elect  either,  I  shall  say  that  consistency 
is  not  to  be  condemned  by  the  men  who  participated  in 
it  throughout. 

Mr.  President,  Mr.  Johnson  adopted  simply  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  plan.  I  am  going  to  settle  that  point  beyond  all 
question  ;  and  first  I  shall  do  it  by  the  authority  of  my 
colleague,  which,  in  my  judgment,  is  quite  sufficient 
authority,  inasmuch  as  his  speech  has  been  recognized 
on  all  sides  as  the  proper  and  able  exposition  of  the  policy 
of  the  party  in  power.  My  colleague  said — and  this,  you 
will  recollect,  was  after  the  convention  had  been  called, 
I  believe  after  they  had  been  in  session,  or  while  they 
were  in  session,  in  these  Southern  States — when  Mr. 
Johnson's  work  of  reconstruction  was  going  on  :  "  It  is 
-one  of  my  purposes  here  this  evening  to  show  that,  so 
far  as  his  policy  of  amnesty  and  reconstruction  is  con 
cerned,  he  has  absolutely  presented  nothing  new;  but 
that  he  has  simply  presented,  and  is  simply  continuing, 
the  policy  which  Mr.  Lincoln  presented  to  the  Nation  on 
the  8th  of  December,  1863. " 

These  were  plain  words.  This  was  said  by  the  then 
•Governor  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  by  my  present  honored 
colleague,  that  Mr.  Johnson,  in  that  policy  which  was 
then  being  consummated,  was  simply  carrying  out  that 
which  the  President  whom  you  all  indorse,  had  inaugu 
rated.  Now,  sir,  I  will  read  from  my  colleague's  mes 
sage —  a  carefully  prepared  document  —  to  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Indiana,  of  November  14,  1865.  I  presume  North 
Carolina  had  then  passed  their  Constitutional  Amend- 

O  -1 

ol 


482  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ments,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  other  States:  "The 
conditions  which  have  been  imposed  upon  these  States 
by  the  President  are  not  only  reasonable  and  legiti 
mate,  but  are  dictated  by  justice  and  a  wise  foresight 
for  the  future  of  the  Republic  ;  and  although  they  may 
not  be  accepted  this  year,  or  even  the  next,  yet  that  they 
ultimately  will  be,  I  have  no  doubt." 

On  this  particular  point  I  will  read  again  from  the  tes 
timony  of  General  Grant.  In  his  examination  before  the 
Committee  of  Impeachment  in  July  last,  he  was  asked  by 
Mr.  Woodbridge,  a  member  of  the  Committee  : 

"Question.  I  want  to  know  whether  the  plan  adopted 
by  Mr.  Johnson  was  substantially  the  plan  which  had 
been  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Lincoln  as  the  basis  for  his 
future  action? 

"Answer.  Yes,  sir,  substantially  ;  I  do  not  know  but 
that  it  was  verbatim  the  same. 

"Question.  I  suppose  the  very  paper  of  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  the  one  acted  on? 

"Answer.  I  should  think  so.  I  think  that  the  very  pa 
per  which  I  heard  read  twice  while  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
President  was  the  one  which  was  carried  right  through." 

And  yet  you  bring  your  accusations  against  Mr.  John 
son,  because  he  received  from  Lincoln,  as  a  part  of  his 
political  inheritance,  the  North  Carolina  proclamation, 
in  his  own  handwriting  perhaps, — at  least  the  proclama 
tion  which  President  Lincoln  had  twice  presented  to  the 
Cabinet,  the  very  same  paper.  Now,  sir,  under  this 
proclamation,  and  the  other  proclamation  of  similar 
import,  new  constitutions  were  not  adopted  by  the 
Southern  States.  They  stood  upon  the  idea  which  you 
stood  upon  in  admitting  Tennessee,  that  the  constitu 
tions  which  held  these  States  to  the  Union  came 
through  the  war,  and  were  valid,  existing  law  at  the 
close  of  the  war ;  and  so  in  all  the  States  of  the  South 
they  simply  amended  their  constitutions.  These  amend- 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  483 

ments  in  the  case  of  North  Carolina  were  submitted  to 
the  people.  My  colleague  said  that  none  had  been  sub 
mitted.  In  the  State  of  North  Carolina  the  important 
amendment,  the  one  abolishing  slavery,  and  some  others, 
were  submitted  to  the  people. 

But,  sir,  I  am  not  going  to  discuss  that  question.  It 
has  been  too  long  the  established  law  and  custom  of  this* 
country,  that  a  Constitutional  Convention  may  adopt  a 
constitution  without  submission,  to  be  now  questioned. 
As  was  stated  by  the  Senator  from  Pennsylvania  yester 
day,  that  great  commonwealth  is  now  an  organized  State 
under  a  constitution  that  never  was  submitted  to  the  peo 
ple,  and  became  the  supreme  law  of  that  State  by  the 
will  of  the  Convention.  This  is  the  law,  though  I  think 
the  practice  better  to  submit  amendments  to  the  people. 
Now,  Mr.  President,  what  were  the  amendments  to  the 
State  constitutions  in  the  South?  First,  they  abolished 
slavery.  Do  Senators  object  to  that?  Second,  secession 
was,  in  express  terms,  repudiated,  and  the  right  to  secede 
denounced.  Third,  the  rebel  debt  was  repudiated,  and 
it  was  declared  that  it  should  never  be  paid.  These  were 
the  material  amendments. 

Do  you,  Senators,  say  that  these  amendments  destroyed 
the  republican  character  of  those  constitutions?  Were 
they  not  republican  in  character  before  the  war?  Were 
not  the  constitutions  of  North  Carolina,  of  South  Carolina, 
and  of  Georgia  at  the  time  they  helped  to  form  the  Federal 
Union,  republican  in  form?  And  were  not  the  constitu 
tions  under  which  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Alabama, 
Florida,  Arkansas,  and  Texas  were  admitted  into  this 
Union,  republican  in  form?  That  is  settled.  I  will  not 
discuss  it.  Then,  sir,  these  constitutions,  that  were  repub 
lican  in  form  before  the  war,  came  down  through  the  war, 
and  by  the  people  were  amended,  simply  adding  that 
slavery  should  no  longer  exist ;  that  secession  was  not  the 
true  doctrine  of  State  relation  to  the  Federal  Government ; 


484  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

and  that  the  rebel  debt  should' never  be  paid.  I  want  to 
know  if  these  provisions  of  amendment  destroyed  the  re 
publican  form  and  character  of  the  constitutions  of  these 
Southern  States? 

Such,  Mr.  President,  was  the  condition  of  this  busi 
ness  when  my  colleague,  in  the  speech  from  which  I  have 
*read,  said  that  the  prospect  of  Reconstruction  appeared 
"  highly  encouraging ;"  and  he  added  in  that  speech: 
"  I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  many  of  the  Southern  States 
are  making  commendable  progress  in  the  matter  of  the 
abolition  of  slavery." 

If  these  States  had  not  legal  governments  in  1865,  I 
want  to  understand  how  it  is  that  they  could  abolish  sla 
very?  I  want  to  know  how  they  could  assent  to  an  amend 
ment  of  the  Federal  Constitution  abolishing  slavery  all 
over  the  United  States?  If  they  were  then  and  are  in 
valid,  illegal  governments,  how  could  they  do  the  most 
solemn  act  to  which  a  State  could  assent?  My  colleague 
then,  not  having  been  educated  by  the  progress  of  events, 
declared,  to  use  his  own  language  :  "  I  am  very  glad  to  see 
that  many  of  the  Southern  States  are  making  commend 
able  progress  in  the  matter  of  the  abolition  of  slavery." 
My  colleague  now  denies  the  authority  of  those  con 
ventions  to  amend  the  constitutions  of  their  States  while 
at  the  time  when  they  were  in  session  he  recognized 
their  proceedings  ? 

I  should  like  to  know,  upon  this  question  of  constitutional 
law,  how  it  is  that  my  colleague  can  be  so  "  educated." 
Upon  questions  of  policy  and  propriety  men  may  be  ed 
ucated  bypassing  events  ;  we  may  change  our  minds  and 
not  be  "  milestones  standing  by  a  deserted  highway,"  as 
he  expressed  it.  We  may  change  our  opinions  in  regard 
to  questions  of  policy  and  propriety,  according  to  the 
changing  scenes  that  are  passing  before  us  ;  but  so  far  as 
the  law  of  the  country  is  concerned,  especially  the  highest 
law  of  the  land,  the  Constitution  itself,  how  are  we  so 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  485 

readily  to  change  our  opinions?  Events  do  not  change 
that.  We  are  not  allowed  to  be  "  educated  "  by  passing 
events  in  regard  to  the  proper  meaning  of  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States.  We  gather  that  from  the  let 
ter  and  from  the  contemporaneous  history  and  construc 
tion. 

Now,  sir,  I  wish  to  ask  Senators  a  question  which  I 
think  they  will  have  to  answer  to  the  people  at  home. 
What  objections  have  you  to  the  constitutions  of  the 
Southern  States  as  amended  by  the  people?  For  two 
years  you  have  made  war  against  this  policy  ;  for  two  years 
you  have  kept  these  Southern  States  out  of  the  Union, 
so  far  as  representation  was  concerned  ;  for  two  years 
you  have  kept  this  country  disturbed  and  distracted. 
Trade,  commerce  and  business  have  been  uncertain, 
shivering  ;  industry  has  been  fearful  to  put  forth  its  hand, 
or  capital  to  trust  to  any  enterprise  ;  the  spirit  of  har 
mony  and  of  union  has  been  passing  away  from  both  sec 
tions  of  the  country  because  of  the  strife  you  have  thus 
kept  up.  For  what  have  you  done  it?  What  end  have 
you  attained?  What  good  has  come?  Was  the  consti 
tution  as  amended  in  North  Carolina  not  right?  Our 
fathers  said  it  was  right,  wrhen  they  formed  the  Union 
with  North  Carolina  as  one  of  the  original  thirteen  ;  they 
said  it  was  a  republican  form  of  government,  and  they 
lived  with  North  Carolina  contented  until  this  rebellion 
came  on  ;  and  then,  when  the  State  had  come  through 
the  war  with  her  constitution  still  in  force  as  a  legal  doc 
ument,  and  the  people  amended  it  only  in  three  or  four 
particulars — those  three  particulars  that  I  mention  being 
the  material  and  important  ones,  namely,  abolishing 
slavery,  declaring  secession  a  vicious  doctrine,  and  de 
claring  that  the  rebel  debt  should  never  be  paid — I  want 
to  know  why,  then,  you  made  war  upon  it?  When  these 
amendments  were  thus  made,  what  was  there  in  the  con 
stitution  of  North  Carolina  that  your  judgments  and  that 


486  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

your  consciences  condemn?  If  North  Carolina  came 
with  her  old  constitution  and  abolished  slavery  and 
adopted  these  other  amendments,  why  did  you  not  let 
her  in?  You  can  not  say  to  me  you  did  not  intend  trait 
ors  to  come  here  and  sit  with  you,  because  you  had  passed 
a  law  in  1862  saying  that  no  man  who  had  given  aid  to 
the  rebellion  should  sit  here.  You  claim  that  law  to  be 
valid  and  constitutional,  and  that  it  keeps  out  of  these 
chambers  and  from  every  Federal  office  every  man  that 
participated  in  the  rebellion,  or  gave  it  aid  or  comfort. 
Then  why  have  you  kept  this  country  distracted,  its  busi 
ness  disturbed,  the  hopes  of  the  people  depressed  for  two 
years,  when  these  constitutions  with  these  provisions 
come  to  you,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  admit 
the  States  to  representation?  Answer  that  question  to 
the  judgment  of  the  country,  and  your  policy  of  recon 
struction  will  stand  better  in  popular  judgment. 

Then,  sir,  to  return  to  the  question,  wlvy  have  you  pur 
sued  this  course  ?  The  commanding  General  of  the  Army 
said  that  the  public  sentiment  at  the  close  of  the  war  was 
in  a  most  healthy  condition.  My  colleague  bore  testi 
mony  of  like  character.  That  was  the  judgment  of  all 
men  in  the  country.  The  condition  of  the  country  was 
auspicious,  and  the  popular  mind  was  in  a  proper  condi 
tion  for  free  government  then,  and  we  ought  to  have  taken 
advantage  of  it.  And  the  President  and  the  people  did 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  the  amendments  to  the  State 
constitutions  were  adopted  that  you  say  to-day  were 
right.  Now,  I  want  to  know  why  it  is  that  these  States 
have  been  kept  out,  that  legal  representatives  have  been 
denied  admission,  that  controversy  has  been  kept  up 
over  the  country,  and  strife  instead  of  peace  and  quiet? 
I  have  my  opinion,  too,  about  it.  It  was  necessary  for 
party  ends  ;  but,  Mr.  President,  if  I  concede  all  that  you 
claim,  that  you  have  the  power  under  the  Constitution, 
that  has  been  so  frequently  referred  to,  to  reorganize  the 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  487 

States,  have  you  exercised  it?  I  will  barely  refer  to  the 
principles  you  have  established.  What  is  a  republican 
form  of  government?  Now,  sir,  I  think  a  republican 
form  of  government  is  a  form  of  government  in  which  the 
people  make  their  own  laws  through  legislators  elected 
by  themselves,  execute  their  laws  through  an  executive 
department  chosen  by  themselves,  and  administer  their 
laws  through  their  own  courts.  Is  not  that  as  near  a  re 
publican  form  of  government  as  you  can  have?  That  was 
the  state  of  things  when  the  congressional  policy  sent  five 
armies  into  the  Southern  States,  when  ten  Governors 
were  deposed  by  the  paramount  authority  of  the  military 
power.  That  was  the  state  of  society  there  ;  the  judiciary, 
the  legislative  and  the  executive  departments  of  their 
governments  were  in  the  exercise  of  their  ordinary  and 
legitimate  authority  and  power  in  each  State.  In  that 
state  of  society  where  the  laws  are  made  by  the  men 
whom  the  people  select,  where  they  are  administered  by 
the  courts  that  have  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and 
where  the  laws  are  executed  by  an  executive  department 
selected  by  the  people,  there  is  peace,  happiness,  and 
prosperity.  You  have  broken  that  down,  and  in  its  stead 
you  have  done — what? 

1.  You  have  made  ten  States  subject  to  military  au 
thority. 

2.  You  have  made  the  civil  tribunal  subject  to  military 
rule. 

3.  The  lives,  the  liberty,  and  persons  of  the  people  are 
subject  to  military  authority. 

4.  Juries  are  abolished. 

5.  Habeas  corpus  is   abolished.     I  mean  of  course,  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  military  commanders. 

6.  You  have  clothed  conventions  with  authority  to  fix 
their  own  salaries,  and  levy  taxes  from  the  people  for 
their  payment. 

7.  You  have  empowered  the  commanders  to  displace 


488  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

governors,  judges,  and  legislators  and  fill  their  places, 
thus  making  them  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  com 
manders. 

What  a  spectacle  we  behold,  sir.  The  judge  taken 
from  the  bench,  and  the  lieutenant  placed  in  his  stead  ; 
legislators  driven  out  and  others  appointed  by  the  military 
to  make  the  laws  which  the  people  must  obey. 

Sir,  what  were  the  causes  of  complaint  which  the  col 
onies  made  against  the  British  crown?  Speaking  of  the 
great  king  of  Britain  our  fathers  declared : 

"  He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment 
of  their  salaries.  He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of 
peace,  standing  armies,  without  the  consent  of  our  Legis 
latures. 

"  He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of 
and  superior  to  the  civil  power. 

"For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent. 

"  For  depriving  us  in  many  cases  of  trials  by  jury." 

You  wrere  kind  enough  in  the  law  to  say,  that  if  the  mili 
tary  commanders  thought  it  good  policy  they  might  con 
tinue  the  civil  courts,  and  try  criminals  in  the  civil  courts, 
but  if  they  thought  best  they  might  organize  military  com 
missions  ;  but  they  should  not  take  any  man's  life  with 
out  a  reference  of  the  case  first  to  the  President  and  that 
limitation  was  put  on  only  after  a  great  deal  of  contro 
versy.  So,  sir,  the  property,  the  life,  and  the  liberty  of 
this  people  are  placed  at  the  control  of  the  military  au 
thority  ;  and  this  is  a  policy  that  is  called  a  policy  of  re 
construction,  of  restoration  ;  and  this  you  claim  to  be  done 
under  the  guarantee  clause  which  directs  this  Govern 
ment  to  guarantee  to  each  State  a  republican  form  of  gov 
ernment  ! 

You  find  no  other  point  in  the  Constitution  where  you 
can  stand.  There  is  not  a  rock  in  the  Constitution  large 
enough  for  your  feet  to  stand  upon  except  this  one,  that 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  48 (J 

it  is  your  duty  to  guarantee  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment  to  these  States  ;  and  in  the  exercise  of  that  powery 
the  discharge  of  that  duty,  you  establish  a  military  rule 
and  despotism  which  is  defined  in  the  language  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  declaring  the  offenses  of  the 
British  crown  toward  the  colonies. 

This  is  all  under  the  pretext  of  the  guarantee  clause. 
I  had  some  respect  for  it  when  it  \vas  claimed  as  under 
the  military  authority  of  the  President,  because  when  you 
say  it  is  a  military  necessity,  I  do  not  know  any  argu 
ment  in  answer  to  that.  Military  necessity  has  no  reply, 
except  obedience  ;  but  to  say  to  an  intelligent  people — to 
people  who  have  sense  enough  to  know  when  they  are 
hungry — that  you  are  guarantying  a  republican  form  of 
government  to  the  States  when  you  are  subjecting  them 
and  all  the  legitimate  and  rightful  authority  of  their  State 
governments  to  military  rule,  is,  in  my  humble  judgment,, 
an  insult  to  an  intelligent  people. 

I  know  the  answer  to  this  very  well ;  that  your  estab 
lishment  in  the  Southern  States  is  only  provisional ;  that 
it  is  only  to  last  for  a  little  time  ;  and  that  out  of  its  ruins 
there  will  "  spring  up,  phoenix-like,  to  Jove,"  republican 
forms  of  government.  You  lay  the  foundation  of  free 
institutions  on  the  solid  rock  of  despotism,  and  expect  it. 
to  grow  up  to  a  beautiful  structure.  I  do  not  believe  in 
the  doctrine  that  you  can  do  wrong  and  expect  good  to 
follow.  I  believe  in  the  doctrine  that  good  is  the  result 
of  good,  that  from  a  pure  fountain  you  may  expect  pure 
water,  from  a  foul  and  poisonous  fountain  you  may  ex 
pect  impure  waters.  And  when  you  sow  the  seeds  of  des 
potism  in  any  country  I  expect  the  fruit  to  correspond 
with  the  seed.  You  need  not  tell  me  that,  when  you  es 
tablish  military  governments  and  despotisms,  the  result 
will  be  free  institutions  and  a  happy  people. 
*  *  ***  *  *  * 

But,  sir,  my  colleague  remarked,  that  the  arch  traitor 


490  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

of  the  southern  rebellion  was  at  large,  and  not  hung. 
Why  so?  If  you  have  power  to  send  military  commissions 
down  into  the  Southern  States  and  hang  men,  why  have 
you  not  hung  Jeff  Davis  long  ago?  What  is  in  the  way 
of  hanging  him  if  he  must  be  hung?  Simply  this  ;  that 
there  is  a  court  over  which  Chief  Justice  Chase  presides  ; 
and  there  is  another  court  over  which  a  Mr.  Underwood 
presides,  and  there  is  a  certain  Horace  Greeley  that  stands 
in  the  way  as  bailsman.  What  have  I  to  do  with  all  this? 
What  has  the  President  to  do  with  it?  If  you  can  send  a 
military  commission — which  the  Supreme  Court  says  has 
no  authority  to  try  a  man  except  in  time  of  war  and  for  a 
military  offense — if  you  can  send  a  military  commission 
down  South  and  try  men  without  authority  of  law  and 
against  the  Constitution,  there  is  no  use  in  going  through 
any  forms  and  ceremonies  ;  but  you  can  just  as  well  pass 
a  law  at  once  that  Jeff  Davis  shall  be  hung.  There  is  no 
difficulty  about  it.  It  can  be  done.  If  his  presence  as 
the  arch  traitor  is  in  the  way  of  establishing  a  republican 
form  of  government  under  the  guarantee  clause  hang 
him  !  There  is  no  trouble  about  it  in  the  world  !  It  is 
one  of  the  class  of  powers  clearly  defined. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  have  but  very  little  to  say  about 
this  particular  bill  which  is  before  the  Senate.  It  is  a  bill 
which  upon  its  face  admits  that  the  constitutional  ques 
tion  is  against  the  majority,  for  it  says  that  the  Executive 
department  and  the  Judicial  department  of  the  Govern 
ment  shall  not  recognize  the  Southern  State  governments 
as  State  governments.  You  say  to  the  judiciary,  "These 
States  shall  not  be  recognized."  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  says  that  the  judicial  proceedings  of  the 
several  States  shall  be  respected  in  all  the  other  States. 
That  is  a  constitutional  provision  ;  and  yet  here  you  say 
that  the  judicial  department  of  the  Government  shall  not 
recognize  these  States  at  all ;  and  therefore  the  Supreme 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  491 

Court,  you  think,  can  not  try  any  questions  that  are  likely 
to  arise  on  your  reconstruction  policy. 

And  this  brings  me  to  consider  for  a  minute  the  remark 
able  bill  requiring  two-thirds  of  the  Supreme  Court  to  con 
cur  before  an  act  of  Congress  can  be  decided  unconstitu 
tional  .  What  is  the  effect  of  that  ?  In  the  first  place  it  gives 
an  unconstitutional  law  two-thirds  of  a  majority  over  the 
Constitution  itself.  The  question  is  whether  an  act  of  Con 
gress  is  the  law,  or  whether  the  Constitution  is  the  law  ;  and 
•on  that  question  you  propose  to  give  the  Constitution  one 
chance  and  the  unconstitutional  act  of  Congress  two 
chances.  Then,  if  my  rights  in  a  case  in  the  Supreme 
Court  depend  upon  the  Constitution  and  your  rights  de 
pend  upon  an  act  of  Congress,  three  judges  can  give  you 
a  decision,  while  I  must  have  six  to  carry  my  case.  As 
has  been  expressed,  a  two-pound  weight  has  been  put  in 
one  end  of  the  scale  of  justice  and  a  one-pound  weight 
in  the  other ;  and  you  expect  this  country  to  approve 
that,  do  you?  You  expect  honest  men  who  are  fit  to  sit 
on  juries  to  say  that  such  legislation  as  that  is  right.  For 
a  thousand  years  the  courts  have  come  down  with  our 
race  on  the  doctrine  that  a  majority  must  decide  ;  and 
now,  for  political  and  partisan  purposes,  because  you  dare 
not  trust  your  legislation  to  go  before  that  tribunal  which 
the  fathers  and  the  Constitution  established  to  settle  it, 
you  attempt  to  strip  that  court  of  the  authority  and  the 
power  with  which  the  fathers  clothed  it.  It  is  an  admis 
sion  bold  and  patent  before  the  world  that  your  legislation 

is  vicious. 

* 

I  do  not  know  how  far  this  process  of  education  of 
which  my  colleague  speaks  is  to  go.  I  speak  of  the  edu 
cation  that  has  carried  the  majority  up  to  my  friend  from 
Massachusetts.  I  shall  not  refer  to  that  further,  for  I  shall 
be  interrupted  if  I  do  ;  but  the  process  of  education  is  go 
ing  on.  I  said  in  the  Senate,  a  year  or  two  ago,  that  the 
course  of  things  is  this  •  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts 


492  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

steps  out  boldly,  declares  his  doctrine,  and  then  he  is  ap 
proached,  and  finally  he  governs.  Believing  that  he  is 
in  the  right — I  concede  that  belief  to  him  as  a  Senator — 
his  place  in  this  body  and  before  this  country  to-day  is  a 
very  proud  one.  He  was  told  somewhat  sneeringly  two 
years  ago  that  among  his  party  friends  he  stood  alone, 
and  to-day  they  all  stand  upon  his  position.  This  is  a 
compliment  and  indorsement  of  sagacity  and  intelligence 
that  but  few  men  receive  in  the  course  of  public  life.  But 
how  far  is  this  education  to  go?  We  hear  the  cracks  of 
the  whip.  The  threat  is  that  "  if  the  Southern  people  do 
not  acquiesce  in  this  we  will  give  them  a  still  more  terri 
ble  penalty."  Where  is  it  to  come  from?  That  argu 
ment  has  no  weight  with  me.  A  threat  to  carry  this  into- 
a  still  greater  wrong  shall  not  deter  me  from  standing 
where  my  conscience  requires  me  to  stand.  If  you  say 
that  in  case  the  Southern  States  do  not  agree  to  your 
propositions  you  will  go  beyond  them  and  still  further  out 
rage  the  right,  the  responsibility  in  all  history  will  be 
with  the  majority  that  now  governs  the  legislation  of  this 
country.  On  every  side  you  chide  the  Southern  States 
because  they  did  not  indorse  the  proposed  Fourteenth 
Amendment  to  the  Constitution.  If  they  have  no  consti 
tutional  governments,  what  do  you  chide  them  for?  If 
they  have  no  legal  State  governments  and  no  legal  Leg 
islatures,  what  railing  accusation  is  this  you  bring  against 
them,  for  they  can  not  ratify  a  constitutional  amendment 
if  they  have  no  legal  existence. 

My  colleague,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  referred  to  a 
statement  made  by  him  in  a  speech  recently  delivered  in 
this  city,  that  the  Democrats  stood  upon  the  policy  of 
paying  for  the  slaves  of  the  South.  In  party  warfare, 
Mr.  President,  I  concede  always  to  the  opposite  party  the 
right  to  define  their  own  positions,  and  I  take  them  as 
truthfully  defining  their  positions,  and  I  do  not  even 
attribute  to  the  opposite  party  political  opinions  which 


ON    RECONSTRUCTION.  493 

they  disclaim  for  themselves.  I  have  no  right  to  do  it, 
and  I  say  my  colleague  has  no  right  to  attribute  to  the 
great  Democracy  of  this  country — a  grand  party,  a  party 
whose  power  and  intelligence  have  had  a  mighty  influence 
in  the  past,  and  is  to  wield  a  great  influence  in  the  future 
of  this  country — doctrines  and  purposes  which  that  party 
disclaims  for  itself.  We  have  a  right  to  stand  where  we 
define  our  own  platform.  I  think  it  is  a  most  remarkable 
thing  that  any  Republican  gentleman  should  say  that  the 
Democracy  are  in  favor  of  paying  for  manumitted  slaves. 
There  are  only  two  cases  where  such  a  measure  has  been 
seriously  urged  before  Congress,  and  upon  that  point  I 
ask  the  attention  of  the  Senate  for  a  single  minute. 

In  1862  Mr.  Lincoln  sent  a  special  message  to  Con 
gress,  proposing  that  they  should  adopt  a  joint  resolution, 
which  he  drew  and  sent  down  to  Congress,  to  buy  up  the 
slaves  of  the  loyal  people.  My  distinguished  friend  from 
New  York  [Mr.  Conkling]  was  then  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  he  was  the  honored 
mouth-piece  of  the  Administration  in  favor  of  this  policy 
on  that  occasion.  He  introduced  into  the  House  the  res 
olution  sent  down  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  here  it  is ;  I  will 
read  it : 

"Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  United 
States  ought  toco-operate  with  any  State  which  may  adopt 
gradual  abolishrnent  of  slavery,  giving  to.  such  State 
pecuniary  aid,  to  be  used  by  such  State  in  its  discretion, 
to  compensate  for  the  inconveniences,  public  and  private, 
produced  by  such  change  of  system." 

Are  Democrats  to  be  charged  now  with  being  in  favor 
of  buying  up  negroes?  What  was  the  answer  made  by 
Indiana  on  the  day  that  resolution  was  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Representatives?  Mr.  Voorhees,  then  a  Rep 
resentative  from  Indiana,  said  :  ulf  there  is  any  border 
slave  State  man  here  who  is  in  doubt  whether  he  wants 


494  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

his  State  to  sell  its  slaves  to  this  Government  or  not.  I 
represent  a  people  that  is  in  no  doubt  as  to  whether  they 
want  to  become  purchasers.  It  takes  two  to  make  a  bar 
gain  ;  and  I  repudiate,  once  and  forever,  for  the  people 
whom  I  represent  on  this  floor,  any  part  or  parcel  in  such 
a  contract."  And  he  went  on  to  argue  against  the  propo 
sition. 

But,  Mr.  President,  who  is  it  that  brings  the  charge 
against  us  of  wanting  to  pay  for  negroes?  There  is  only 
one  case  in  the  history  of  this  Government  where  money 
has  been  taken  out  of  the  national  treasury  to  pay  for 
negroes,  and  that  was  to  buy  up  the  negroes  of  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia  at  $300  a  head ;  and  the  party  in 
majority  passed  that  law,  and  it  was  approved  by  Mr. 
Lincoln.  Then  who  has  the  right  to  charge  against  the 
Democracy  of  this  country  a  purpose  to  pay  for  slave 
property?  The  Democracy  has  never  recognized  such 
property  in  negroes  as  required  or  authorized  the  Gov 
ernment  to  pay  money  out  of  the  national  treasury  for 
them. 

Mr.  President,  my  colleague  has  spoken  of  a  column — 
the  column  of  Congressional  Reconstruction — and  has 
said  "  it  is  not  hewn  of  a  single  stone,  but  is  composed 
of  many  blocks."  Sir,  I  think  he  is  right.  Its  founda 
tion  is  the  hard  flint  stone  of  military  rule,  brought  from 
the  quarries  of  Austria,  and  upon  that  foundation  rests 
the  block  from  Africa,  and  it  is  thence* carried  to  the  top 
most  point  with  fragments  of  our  broken  institutions. 
That  column  will  not  stand.  It  will  fall  and  its  architects 
will  be  crushed  beneath  its  ruins.  In  its  stead  the  peo 
ple  will  uphold  thirty-seven  stately  and  beautiful  columns, 
pure  and  white  as  Parian  marble,  upon  which  shall  rest 
forever  the  grand  structure  of  the  American  Union. 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EiGHT.  495 

V.  CAMPAIGN  SPEECH  OF  '68. 

FROM   THE   JOINT   DEBATE   WITH   GOVERNOR   BAKER. 

Portland,  lnd.t  September  13,  IS 68. 

My  competitor  says  the  issue  is  whether  loyal  men  shall 
govern  the  country — in  other  words,  whether  the  rebels 
shall  be  restored  to  power.  I  want  to  know  if  the  Dem 
ocrats  have  yet  restored  the  rebels  to  power.  Not  a 
man — not  a  single  man.  Now,  my  competitor's  argu 
ment  is  that  a  party  ought  not  to  receive  your  support  if 
it  be  in  favor  of  restoring  to  political  rights  the  rebels 
of  the  South.  The  Democrats  have  restored  none  yet. 
President  Johnson's  pardon  does  not  restore  political 
rights.  It  simply  relieves  the  party  from  liability  to  punish 
ment.  My  competitor  refers  to  Wade  Hampton's  speak 
ing  of  what  was  conceded  to  the  people  of  the  South  in 
the  New  York  Convention.  And  who  was  Wade  Hamp 
ton?  A  brave,  capable,  daring  general  of  the  South,  who 
fought  our  soldiers  on  many  a  battle-field.  He  was  a 
brave  man,  and  commanded  well ;  but  when  the  war  was 
over  Wade  Hampton  said :  "  Our  cause  is  lost,  and  our 
banner  is  dragged  in  the  dust ;  you  and  I  must  turn  round 
once  more  and  live  under  the  old  banner ;  we  must  obey 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  again."  This  is  the  ap 
peal  he  made  to  his  countrymen  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
If  it  was  right,  you  ought  not  to  have  lost  confidence  in 
him,  even  if  he  was  in  the  Convention  at  New  York. 

But  who  was  in  the  Chicago  Convention?  Who  was 
there?  I  am  not  now  speaking  of  the  nineteen  Negroes 
that  represented  nineteen  districts  in  that  Convention. 
[Laughter.]  I  am  now  speaking  of  the  most  eloquent 
orator  they  had  ;  of  the  most  popular  speaker  in  the  Con 
vention  ;  of  one  who,  in  the  Convention,  boasted  that  he 
was  an  original  Secessionist.  I  speak  of  Governor  Brown, 
of  the  State  of  Georgia,  who  was  Governor  of  Georgia  at 


496  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

the  commencement  of  the  troubles,  and  who  would  not 
wait  until  the  war  commenced,  but  who,  in  defiance  of 
all  law  and  authority,  seized  all  the  forts  and  arsenals  of 
the  United  States  within  the  jurisdiction  of  his  State.  It 
was  Governor  Brown  who  carried  out  the  second  strong 
est  State  of  all  the  Southern  States.  In  money,  in  men 
and  in  means,  Georgia  was  the  strongest,  excepting  only 
Virginia.  And  yet  he  was  the  captain,  the  leader,  the 
orator  of  the  Chicago  Convention,  I  may  be  allowed  to 
say.  [Laughter.] 

It  doesn't  sto'p  there,  and  I  am  glad  I  am  addressing 
some  soldiers — some  soldiers  who  call  themselves  White 
Boys  in  Blue,  and  some  who  call  themselves  Fighting 
Boys  in  Blue.  I  speak  to  all  as  honest  men.  Governor 
Brown  was  the  Governor  of  Georgia  when  Andersonville 
Prison  was  established — that  prison  in  which  your  com 
rades  lingered  and  died,  and  where  they  were  compelled 
to  drink  foul  water  and  eat  unwholesome  food  ;  it  was  in 
that  prison  so  many  souls  of  your  comrades  passed  away. 
Being  Governor,  and  having  as  much  power  there  as 
Governor  Morton  had  here,  to  say  what  should  be  in  the 
limits  of  the  State,  he  never  raised  his  voice  or  his  hand 
for  the  relief  of  any  one  soldier  in  Andersonville.  He 
never  raised  his  voice  or  his  hand  in  their  relief.  But  my 
friend's  party  now  says  -  "  Oh,  Joe  Brown,  this  is  a  hard 
record  on  you,  that  you  should  be  a  leader  in  the  acts  of 
secession  and  carry  a  great  State  out  of  the  Union ;  it  is 
a  hard  record  that  you  never  raised  your  voice  or  your 
hand  for  the  relief  of  the  suffering  and  dying  at  Ander 
sonville  ;  it  is  a  hard  record — but  we  will  forgive  you. 
We  know  very  well,  Governor  Brown,  that  the  souls  of 
thousands  of  soldiers  from  the  North  ascended  from  the 
camp  in  Andersonville,  and  now  stand  on  the  ramparts 
of  the  skies  to  bear  witness  against  you  because  you  never 
raised  your  voice  or  your  hand  for  their  relief;  but  we 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  497 

will  forgive  you  all  that,  because  you  joined  our  party  and 
came  to  Chicago."     [Laughter  and  "  That's  so."] 

Gentlemen,  my  competitor  has  told  you  that  we  didn't 
exactly  sympathize  in  the  right  direction  during  the  war. 
Let  us  see  how  this  is.  I  will  read  from  his  political  as 
sociate.  Governor  Brown,  who  is  making  speeches  in  the 
State  of  Georgia  and  asking  the  people  to  support  Grant 
and  Colfax.  This  speech  was  delivered  on  the  22d  of 
last  month — less  than  one  month  ago,  and  published  first, 
I  believe,  in  the  Cincinnati  Commercial.  In  the  first  place 
he  is  giving  reasons  why  he  will  not  go  with  the  Demo 
crats.  Let  me  read  them  : 

k'  How,  then,  did  I  and  those  who  act  with  me  betray 
party  faith  when  we  refused  to  support  the  new  organi 
zation?  Upon  what  does  it  base  its  claim  to  our  support? 
Is  it  friendship  to  the  Southern  cause  during  the  war?" 

Now  here  is  his  answer ;  and  you  were  bound  by  it,  as 
you  made  him  your  ally  in  Chicago.  He  says : 

''The  mass  of  the  Democratic  party — the  rank  and 
file — came  down  by  hundreds  of  thousands  with  guns 
in  their  hands,  and  poured  deadly  fire  into  our  ranks. 
Without  their  aid  against  us  we  would  never  have  been 
subdued."  That  is  Governor  Brown's  testimony  on  the 
question.  Take  it,  my  Radical  friends — you  thought  it 
right  to  be  politically  associated  with  the  man  who  took 
Georgia  out  of  the  Union — take  this  endorsement  of  the 
Northern  Democracy  by  him  and  abide  by  it. 

Who  proposes  to  restore  red-handed  rebels  to  power? 
I  hold  in  my  hand  two  bills,  either  one  with  a  large  num 
ber  of  names  upon  it,  passed  in  the  months  of  June  and 
July,  and  every  Radical  vote  in  Congress  was  cast  for  it. 
Let  me  read  this  bill  : 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the    Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  of  the  United  States  of  America,  two-thirds  of 
each  House  concurring  therein,  That  all  legal  and  polit- 
32 


498  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ical  disabilities  imposed  upon  the  following  named  citi 
zens  of  the  several  States  hereinafter  mentioned,  in  con 
sequence  of  participation  in  the  recent  rebellion  be,  and 
the  same  are,  hereby  removed." 

Then  follow  the  names.  In  all  there  appear  between 
ten  and  twelve  hundred  of  them — more  than  one  regi 
ment  of  "  red-handed  rebels,"  from  whom  all  legal  and 
political  disabilities  are  removed ;  and  they  are  clad  now 
with  all  the  political  rights  to  vote  and  have  office — from 
the  President  down  to  the  lowest  office — that  any  one  of 
you  now  stand  invested  with  before  the  law.  These 
twelve  hundred  men  all  participated  in  the  rebellion  ;. 
some  were  Generals  in  their  armies,  commanding  corps  ; 
some  were  Colonels,  commanding  regiments,  arrayed 
against  Northern  troops  ;  some  were  Commissaries  and 
and  Quartermasters  in  the  Southern  army,  sending  them 
supplies  and  comforts,  and  others  were  ordnance  officers 
sending  cannon  and  guns  for  their  use  ;  and  some  even,. 
I  believe,  were  blockade  runners.  And  they  are  all  par 
doned  by  an  act  of  Congress — two-thirds  concurring  in 
that  action.  These  men  can  now  be  Presidents,  Cabinet 
officers,  or  fill  any  other  place  in  the  gift  of  the  people  or 
the  Government.  They  are  all  forgiven.  Oh,  the  blood 
was  so  red  upon  their  hands  !  Northern  blood  was  clot 
ted  upon  their  skirts  !  But  Congress  says,  "  We  will  not 
bear  it  in  remembrance  against  you  at  all.  You  have 
joined  our  party."  [Laughter.]  Now,  my  countrymen, 
I  meet  my  competitor  here,  standing  face  to  face  with 
him,  and  let  it  be  decided  by  you.  He  said  you  ought 
not  to  have  confidence  in  the  Democratic  party,  because 
it  restored  "  red-handed  rebels."  I  have  just  read  to  you 
bills  that  this  party  passed  in  Congress,  restoring  more 
than  a  regiment  of  those  "  red-handed  rebels,"  and  it  re 
stored  two  of  them  who  now  occupy  seats  in  Congress, 
without  taking  the  iron-clad  oath  at  all. 

Mv  competitor  has  talked  about  the  iron-clad  oath,  and 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  499 

my  views  expressed  in  the  Senate.  There  is  no  need  of 
discussing  that  any  longer.  The  Radical  party  has  gone 
far  beyond  that.  They  allowed  two  or  three  members 
of  Congress  to  take  their  seats  who  did  not  and  could  not 
take  the  iron-clad  oath,  and  they  were  expressly  par 
doned  by  an  act  of  Congress,  that  they  might  take  their 
seats.  One  of  them,  Young,  of  Georgia,  was  a  Colonel 
and  then  a  General  in  the  Southern  army,  and  fought  on 
many  a  battle  field.  He  is  now  a  Congressman.  He 
could  not  take  the  iron-clad  oath,  but  Congress  said, 
"We  will  wipe  the  blood  off  your  hands,  and  you  may 
take  your  seat  without  taking  the  iron-clad  oath."  I  say 
it  is  not  important  what  my  views  are  about  the  iron-clad 
oath,  when  you  see  the  Radical  party  themselves  are  fill 
ing  positions  in  the  Government  with  men  that  can  not 
take  that  oath,  and  in  order  to  enable  them  to  hold  Gov 
ernment  positions,  they  passed  these  bills  of  restoration. 
Now  who  is  right?  Let  my  competitor  stand  under  the 
standard  he  put  over  me.  [Cheers.]  Here  we  are,  gen 
tlemen,  face  to  face.  My  competitor  said  you  ought  not 
support  me,  because  I  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  iron 
clad  oath  was  unconstitutional,  as  relating  to  Senators  of 
the  United  States,  and  I  have  shown  you  that  Congress 
itself,  by  bills  passed,  have  restored  over  twelve  hundred 
to  political  power  without  taking  the  iron-clad  oath. 
Judge  between  us  who  is  right.  As  far  as  I  am  con 
cerned,  you  may  look  clear  through  my  views. 

My  competitor  said  that  during  the  war  I  condemned 
one  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamations,  and  approved  the 
same  proclamation  when  issued  by  Mr.  Johnson.  I  ask 
my  competitor  to  read  those  two  proclamations  once  more 
before  he  says  that  again.  The  proclamation  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  which  I  opposed,  I  oppose  to-day  ;  and  it  is  one 
the  Republican  party  never  stood  upon  from  that  day  to 
this.  That  proclamation  stated  that  when  one  man  out 
of  ten  of  the  loyal  would  take  the  proper  oath,  they  should 


500  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

be  the  government  of  the  State.  I  do  not  believe  that  a 
State  government  can  be  modified  or  established  by  one- 
tenth  of  the  people.  I  believe  there  ought  to  be  a  clear 
majority  of  the  people  expressing  their  consent  before  the 
whole  State  shall  be  bound  by  it.  Another  thing,  that 
proclamation  required  every  man  in  the  South  to  swear 
not  only  to  stand  by  the  proclamation  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  then  issued,  but  all  thereafter  to  be  issued.  No 
man  can  swear  to  stand  by  a  proclamation  hereafter  to 
be  issued.  When  Mr.  Johnson  issued  his  proclamation 
there  was  no  proposition  that  one-tenth  should  govern, 
nor  that  the  people  should  swear  to  abide  by  future  proc 
lamations  ;  but  only  to  stand  by  the  condition  of  the  Negro 
as  then  fixed.  Don't  you  think  there  is  some  difference? 
[Voices,  "Yes."] 

My  competitor  said  I  was  satisfied  with  Mr.  Johnson's 
proclamation  issued  May  9,  1865.  Why  not?  Can  he  bring 
it  as  a  charge  against  me?  Let  me  read  what  Governor 
Morton  said  of  the  condition  of  the  parties  then.  Hear 
what  Governor  Morton  said  four  months  after  that  proc 
lamation  was  made.  I  read  from  Governor  Morton  be 
cause  he  is  recognized  by  my  competitor's  party  as  a 
leader.  On  the  2pth  of  September,  1865,  ne  used  this 
language  in  a  speech  made  to  the  people  when  there  was 
no  great  election  on  hand  ;  when,  as  Governor  of  the 
State  he  desired  to  express  his  opinion  to  the  people,  he 
said  : 

"  I  desire  in  the  first  place  to  remark  that  the  general 
condition  of  the  country  is  most  promising  and  favorable. 
I  know  there  are  those  who  take  gloomy  views,  but  to 
me  it  has  been  most  encouraging." 

It  has  been  a  very  complete  and  soothing  thing,  I  ex 
pect — that  Reconstruction  thing  ;  that  proclamation.  He 
said  it  was  most  encouraging  in  view  of  the  interests  of 
the  country.  Now  my  competitor  may  go  and  settle  that 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  501 

question  with  Governor  Morton.  [Laughter.]  Here  Gov 
ernor  Morton  goes  on  to  show  in  his  speech  that  the  res 
toration  policy  of  Mr.  Johnson,  as  shown  in  his  procla 
mation  of  the  29th  of  May,  1865,  is  identical  with  the 
policy  of  Mr.  Lincoln ;  and  when  I  support  the  policy  of 
Mr.  Johnson  on  reconstruction  I  support  the  policy  of 
reconstruction  inaugurated  by  Abraham  Lincoln.  Here 
is  Governor  Morton  for  it.  Do  you  want  me  to  read  his 
words?  But  I  need  not  read  what  Governor  Morton  said, 
for  General  Grant  testified  under  oath,  before  the  Con 
gressional  Investigating  Committee,  that  the  proclamation 
Mr.  Johnson  issued  was  read  twice  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  Cabi 
net  in  his  hearing,  and  it  is  his  opinion  that  Mr.  Johnson 
took  the  very  same  paper  and  put  it  through.  This  very 
proclamation  of  May  29,  1865,  was  a  proclamation  made 
by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  adopted  by  Mr.  Johnson  when  he 
came  in  as  President.  If  that  proclamation  is  wrong,  my 
competitor  may  settle  that  with  men  that  have  reverence 
for  the  views  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

I  believe  I  will  say  a  little  more  on  this  question  of  Re 
construction,  now  that  I  am  upon  it.  General  Grant 
says,  in  his  .letter  of  acceptance,  "Let  us  have  peace." 
Why  is  it,  three  years  after  the  close  of  the  war,  General 
Grant  had  to  implore  for  peace  ?  Why  is  it  that  we  have 
not  had  peace  for  three  years  past?  Why  is  it  that  we  have 
discord,  strife  and  contention  after  the  war  has  closed 
more  than  three  years?  The  soldiers  of  the  South  went 
to  their  homes  in  the  months  of  April  and  May,  1865  » 
the  soldiers  of  the  North  came  home  and  were  greeted  by 
their  friends  in  the  summer  of  1865.  They  thought  their 
work  was  done  ;  they  thought  the  restoration  was  com 
plete.  Why  is  it  that  we  have  had  no  peace?  Mr.  Lin 
coln  in  his  last  message  said  that  at  the  close  of  the  war 
we  wanted  only  the  restoration  of  the  Southern  States  in 
practical  relations  to  the  Government.  What  were  prac 
tical  relations?  The  laws  were  to  be  extended  over  the 


502  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

Southern  States,  and  the  machinery  of  the  Government 
to  be  put  in  motion  once  more.  Here  is  what  Governor 
Morton  said  on  that  subject ;  and  as  it  expresses  it  so  well, 
I  adopt  these  words  as  my  own  views  : 

11 1  will  not  stop  to  argue  this  question  at  length,  but  I 
will  say  this, — that  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  up  to 
the  present  time  every  message  of  the  President,  every 
proclamation,  every  State  paper  and  every  act  of  Con 
gress  has  proceeded  on  the  hypothesis  that  no  State 
can  secede  from  the  Union — once  in  the  Union  always  in 
the  Union.'1 

That  is  what  Governor  Morton  says  was  Mr.  Lincoln's 
policy  on  that  subject.  I  say,  once  in  the  Union  always 
in  the  Union.  By  revolution  and  a  successful  war  you 
can  sever  a  State ;  but  I  appeal  to  the  White  Boys  in 
Blue  whether  the  war  did  throw  the  States  out  of  the 
Union.  When  you  came  home,  \vhat  was  to  be  done? 
Nothing  but  to  restore  the  laws  and  let  the  machinery  of 
the  Government  go  on.  All  would  be  peace,  quiet  and 
harmony  once  more  if  you  let  the  people  govern  them 
selves,  as  in  former  times,  according  to  the  Constitution 
and  the  laws.  That  was  the  doctrine  Mr.  Johnson  laid 
down.  But  it  could  not  be.  There  could  not  be  this 
peace.  Just  then  Congress  came  in  and  disturbed  the 
peace.  Congress  said,  we  have  some  conditions  to  im 
pose  upon  you  that  you  have  not  yet  accepted.  What  did 
you  men  of  the  North  demand  of  the  South?  You  de 
manded  just  three  things.  My  competitor  knows  it,  and 
you  know  it.  You  demanded  of  it  the  abolition  of  slavery  ; 
you  demanded  the  repudiation  of  the  Southern  debt ;  and 
you  demanded  a  repudiation  of  the  right  to  secede  from 
the  Union.  That  is  what  you  demanded  ;  and  that,  gen 
tlemen,  I  say  to  you,  the  South  acquiesced  in,  and  in 
every  constitution  formed  by  the  Southern  States  it  was 
made  a  part  thereof  that  the  Southern  debt  was  to  be  re 
pudiated  forever,  that  the  right  of  secession  was  gone 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  503 

forever,  and  that  slavery  was  given  up  forever.  That  is 
in  every  Southern  constitution  under  Johnson's  plan. 
But  Congress  said,  44We  have  got  something  more  to  pro 
vide.  You  shall  provide  for  Negro  equality,  and  in  order 
to  bring  that  about  we  will  suspend  the  machinery  of  the 
State  governments  there,  and  we  will  send  an  army  in 
•each  of  the  districts,  and  place  the  military  above  the 
civil  law — there  shall  be  almost  an  actual  state  of  hostility 
and  strife."  For  three  years  this  country  has  been  agitated 
by  this  cruel  policy,  and  now  I  ask  you  what  has  Congress 
accomplished  that  was  not  already  accomplished  in  Mr. 
Johnson's  plan?  Nothing  but  this — that  Negroes  are 
made  the  voting  power  in  the  South.  Since  this  Recon 
struction  policy  has  been  made,  every  Southern  constitu 
tion  and  State  ^Legislature  has  been  almost  packed  with 
Negroes.  And  you  had  no  peace.  General  Grant  has  to 
pray  for  peace.  But  why  have  we  not  had  it?  Simply 
that  this  Congressional  policy  shall  be  rushed  onward, 
which  has  resulted  in  nothing  but  what  was  accomplished 
before,  except  the  establishment  of  Negro  rule  in  ten 
States  of  this  Union. 

My  competitor  says  that  the  Democracy  during  the  war 
were  opposed  to  greenbacks.  I  want  to  know  if  Gover 
nor  Baker  never  had  an  opinion  on  a  law  question  that 
was  not  changed  by  the  courts.  Many  of  the  courts  of 
this  country  have  decided  that  greenbacks  are  legal  ten 
ders.  I  did  not  believe  that  a  law  could  make  me  take 
paper  when  the  contract  said  I  should  have  gold  ;  but 
when  the  courts  so  decide,  I  guess  we  must  yield  to  the 
decision  of  the  courts.  He  is  now  dodging  on  the  ques 
tion  of  greenbacks.  Does  he  believe  them  to  be  consti 
tutional  ?  Let  him  tell  us  that.  [GOVERNOR  BAKER — ' '  Cer 
tainly."]  He  says  "  certainly."  When  the  law  called 
for  gold  when  the  debt  was  created  and  I  am  bound  to 
take  paper  for  it,  and  that  is  said  to  be  a  debt  paid  in 
good  faith,  I  want  to  know  if  it  is  bad  faith  to  pay  the 


-504  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

bond  holder  in  that  which  is   legal   tender— especially 
when  the  bond  does  not  call  for  gold.    My  competitor  says 
that  we  ought  not  to  commence  the  payment  of  the  debt 
at  all.     I  suppose  he  stands  on  the  Congressional  policy. 
I  would  like  to  read  the  resolution  passed  in  the  Chicago 
Convention  on  that  subject.     They  say,  "  Pay  off  the  debt 
according  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law."     If  there 
was  a  difference  between  the  letter  and  the  spirit,  I  ask 
Governor  Baker  to  tell  this  people  why  this  Convention 
did  not  tell  what  this   difference  was,  so  that  the  people 
may  know  what  they  are  up  to.     When  they  are  talking 
to  the  people,  it  ought  not  to  be  with  a  forked  tongue. 
They  ought  to  speak  so  plainly  that  there  is  no  doubt 
about  it.     They  must  be  paid  not  only  according  to  the 
letter,  but  the  spirit.    I  ascertain  the  spirit  of  a  law  by  its 
letter.     I  see  what  its  words  are,  and  then  I   take  into 
consideration  the  enactment  and  know  what  it  means. 
But^  sometimes  it  is  so  ambiguously  expressed  that  a  man 
can't  tell.     But  there  is  no  ambiguity  about  this  law.     It 
says  the  interest  shall  be  paid  in  gold,  and  not  that  the 
Government  shall  pay  the  principal  in  gold  ;  and  in  the 
same  enactment  it  is  provided  that  the  legal  tenders  shall 
be  lawful  money  to  be   received  by  the  Government  and 
the  public  for  all  debts  and  Government  dues  except  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt  and  duties  on  imports.     When 
the  Convention  in  New  York  spoke  about  lawful  money, 
they  used  the  language  of  the  act  of  Congress  declaring 
greenbacks  to  be  lawful  money  and   a  legal  tender  for 
everything  except  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  and  du 
ties  on  imports. 

Gentlemen,  I  am  not  going  to  take  the  defensive— I 
am  not  on  the  defensive  this  year.  Governor  Baker 
and  his  party  have  been  in  power  eight  years.  He  is 
exact  about  time,  and  I  will  put  it  nearly  eight  years. 
He  says  the  Chicago  Democratic  Convention  spoke 
falsely  about  the  duration  of  the  war.  I  say  he  and  his 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  505 

party  have  to  account  to  this  country  for  all  they  have 
done.  The  question  is  not  what  /  have  done,  being  out 
of  political  power,  but  what  he  has  done,  being  in  politi 
cal  power.  I  want  to  know  why  it  is  that  he  and  his 
political  party  insist  that  the  bonds  shall  be  paid  in  gold. 
And  it  is  a  question  you  want  to  know  ;  because  if  you 
have  to  pay  $  i  ,600,000,000  of  gold  bonds  instead  of  paper 
bonds,  the  value  is  increased  between  $700,000,000  and 
$800,000,000.  He  is  in  favor  of  postponing  the  paying 
of  the  public  debt.  That  is  what  the  Chicago  Republi 
can  Convention  says,  and  that  is  what  the  Funding  bill 
passed  in  the  last  days  of  the  session  says — take  up  the 
old  bonds  and  issue  new  ones  ;  and  that  law  said  the  new 
bonds  should  run  forty  years,  and  be  at  four  and  a  half 
per  cent,  interest,  gold ;  and  that  they  should  be  paid  in 
gold  when  due,  and  that  during  the  entire  forty  years 
they  should  pay  no  tax  whatever.  It  went  to  Mr.  John 
son  five  minutes  before  the  adjournment,  and  if  he  had 
signed  it  the  mortgage  \vould  have  been  complete.  Then 
your  greenback  bonds  would  be  gone  forever.  Then  the 
debt  would  run  forty  years,  and  the  people  of  the  coun 
try  would  be  paying  upon  them  above  $100,000,000  in 
gold  interest,  and  at  the  end  of  forty  years  they  would 
have  to  pay  off  the  debt  in  gold.  Forty  years  the  people 
of  this  country  would  be  wrandering  through  the  wilder 
ness  of  indebtedness ;  and  at  the  end  of  this  course  the 
children  of  those  now  living  (for  many  will  be  laid  away 
in  that  time)  would  cross  the  Jordan  into  the  promised 
land  free  from  debt.  Don't  you  want  that  done?  Don't 
you  wish  Mr.  Johnson  had  been  impeached?  Then  old 
Ben  Wade  would  have  been  in  the  Presidential  chair, 
and  he  would  have  signed  the  bill  at  once.  One  year 
ago  Wade  said  that  when  anybody  talked  about  paying 
the  bonds  in  greenbacks  it  seemed  to  him  like  he  was 
looking  into  the  face  of  a  penitentiary  bird.  Don't  you 
wish  Wade  had  been  there,  to  make  the  bonds  worth 


506  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

seven  or  eight  hundred  millions  of  dollars  more  than  they 
are  now  ?  Forty  years  to  run  and  no  taxes  to  pay  on  these 
bonds  ;  and  at  the  end  of  forty  years  your  children  would 
pay  the  debt  in  gold  !  If  you  only  had  Mr.  Johnson  im 
peached  and  Ben  Wade  in,  what  a  good  thing  it  would 
have  been  for  the  country  !  [Laughter.] 

By  the  way,  that  impeachment  was  a  nice  thing.  They 
lacked  only  one  vote  to  carry  it.  There  were  seven  Sen 
ators  belonging  to  the  Republican  party — at  least  respect 
able  in  point  of  intelligence — who  said  they  would  not 
vote  for  impeachment,  and  all  over  the  land  the  cry  was 
that  they  were  bribed.  Everybody  in  the  Republican 
party  said  that.  That  was  about  one-sixth  of  the  Senate. 
Nearly  every  sixth  man,  you  said,  was  bribed.  If  I  were 
a  member  I  swear  I  would  leave  a  party  so  easily  bribed. 
[Laughter.]  There  were  about  twelve  of  us  Democrats 
that  sat  there  day  by  day  while  they  were  trying  to  carrv 
impeachment,  and  they  lacked  only  one  vote  of  putting 
Wade  in  as  President ;  and  then  they  would  have  con 
trol  of  thousands  of  important  offices,  and  hundreds  of 
millions  of  money.  But  with  all  their  offices  and  all  their 
money  they  could  not  buy  the  vote  of  one  single  Demo 
crat.  [Cheers.]  I  am  satisfied  that  Mr.  Johnson  stayed 
in,  and  I  want  the  people  in  October  to  express  them 
selves  so  unmistakably  that  the  thunder  tones  shall  roll 
around  and  shake  the  National  Capitol  until  the  deaf  ear 
of  Congress  shall  hear  you  demanding  the  taxation  of 
the  bonds  and  the  payment  of  the  bonds  in  greenbacks, 
as  the  law  provides.  *  *  * 

My  competitor  says  if  Mr.  Seymour  is  elected  the  Sen 
ate  will  be  against  him,  and  that  there  will  be  this  con 
stant  strife  about  the  offices.  The  Senate  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Executive  have  been  at  variance  for  the 
last  three  years.  If  the  President  should  nominate  ever 
so  good  a  man — ever  so  well  qualified  to  fill  an  office — 
the  Radicals  would  not  allow  him  to  be  confirmed  unless 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  507 

he  were  of  their  political  faith.  The  interests  of  the  pub 
lic  service  did  not  control  them,  but  the  interests  of  their 
party  has  controlled  them.  I  suppose  three  or  four  hun 
dred  soldiers,  many  of  them  wounded  in  battle,  have 
been  rejected  by  the  Senate,  although  they  were  qualified 
simply  because  they  were  not  giving  their  support  to  the 
Radical  party.  I  remember  one  instance — young  Gunter, 
of  Bloomington,  who  was  rejected  for  postmaster,  al- 
thpugh  he  went  into  the  army  as  a  Democrat  and  lost  a 
leg  in  the  service.  Simply  because  he  wouldn't  change, 
they  rejected  him,  as  honest  a  young  man  as  there  is  in 
the  country.  My  competitor  wants  you  to  elect  a  man 
who  would  be  in  harmony  with  the  Senate.  I  want  a 
President  who  will  make  the  Constitution  the  polar  star 
of  his  Administration,  and  go  back  to  the  beaten  paths  in 
which  our  fathers  trod  ;  and  then  we  will  bring  a  Con 
gress  there  to  support  him. 

Mr.  Thaddeus  Stevens,  in  a  letter,  said  that  everybody 
knew  this  Reconstruction  was  outside  of  the  Constitution  ; 
and  yet  my  competitor  spoke  a  quarter  of  an  hour  about 
the  Democratic  Convention  declaring  it  to  be  unconstitu 
tional.  If  within  the  Constitution,  it  was  clearly  against 
what  Mr.  Stevens  said.  Of  course  it  is  outside  of  the 
Constitution.  In  the  McArdle  case,  before  the  Supreme 
Court — Congress  took  that  case  away,  when  it  was  pend 
ing  in  that  court.  They  passed  a  bill  preventing  the  Su 
preme  Court  from  deciding  upon  the  case  ;  and  yet  a 
majority  of  that  court  was  composed  of  men  appointed  by 
Mr.  Lincoln  himself.  I  believe  there  is  a  majority  of  his 
appointees  on  the  Supreme  Bench.  Five  out  of  the  eight 
were  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  yet  they  would  not 
let  the  Supreme  Court,  made  up  of  Republicans,  pass  upon 
the  question  whether  the  Southern  laws  were  constitu 
tional  or  not !  And  when  the  Court  had  its  decision  ready 
to  pronounce  in  the  McArdle  case,  they  passed  a  law  that 
the  Court  should  not  act  in  that  class  of  cases.  Now,  I 


508  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

say  it  is  left  to  the  President  to  decide  what  laws  are  un 
constitutional.  If  they  won't  allow  what  the  Constitution 
and  the  fathers  have  provided,  then  the  Executive  officer 
should  do  as  Andrew  Jackson  did  in  regard  to  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States.  He  said  he  had  as  much  right  to 
decide  as  the  Supreme  Court. 

My  competitor  has  said  that  at  the  October  election 
only  one  Democrat  will  be  elected  to  Congress  from  this 
State.  [A  voice,  "  That's  so."]  Its  cheap  work  for  Igm 
or  that  gentleman  that  knows  nothing  about  it  out  there. 
[Laughter.]  Its  cheap  for  either  of  them  or  myself  to 
brag  about  the  result  of  the  election  in  advance.  I  can 
say  what  I  please.  It  is  guess  work.  My  competitor 
will  find  it  to  the  contrary,  I  think,  to  the  extent  of  five  or 
six.  I  think  he  has  missed  his  guess  in  relation  to  six. 
But  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  this  debate.  I  am  not 
here  to  brag  before  you.  If  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  peo 
ple  of  the  State  that  my  competitor,  a  gentleman  worthy 
in  all  individual  and  personal  relations, — if  it  is  the  judg 
ment  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  Indiana  that  he  shall 
be  their  Governor,  no  man  will  bow  with  more  grace  and 
less  reluctance  than  myself.  It  will  give  me  no  concern. 
Allow  me  to  assure  you,  my  happiness  does  not  depend 
upon  being  elected  to  office.  But  I  believe  the  sentiments 
inscribed  upon  the  Democratic  and  Conservative  banner 
in  1868  are  the  true  sentiments  of  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  and  I  believe  they  will  promote  your  prosperity 
and  happiness. 

I  know  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  excite  a  feeling  of  bitter 
ness,  hatred  and  dislike,  and  my  competitor  has  easy 
work  to  refer  back  to  the  scenes  of  war  and  address  those 
who  have  lost  brothers  and  sons  and  fathers  and  appeal 
to  you  to  hate  the  South.  Still,  it  is  not  the  dictates  of 
statesmanship  or  of  our  religion.  The  dictates  of  religion 
are  to  heal  wounds,  restore  harmony,  and  bring  about  re 
conciliation. 


CAMPAIGN    SPEECH    OF    SIXTY-EIGHT.  509 

The  most  beautiful  lesson  taught  in  the  New  Testa 
ment  is  that  brought  out  in  the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal 
Son.  That  prodigal  son  left  the  best  home  in  the  world, 
and  said  he  would  seek  his  fortune  in  a  distant  land  ;  but 
when  there,  hunger  came;  misfortune  befel  him;  and  he 
returned  to  that  home.  His  father,  seeing  him  a  great 
way  off,  if  animated  by  the  spirit  of  Radicalism,  would 
say  :  "  That  boy  left  the  best  home  in  the  world  and  ex 
pects  to  come  back  again.  I'll  teach  him  a  lesson.  He 
must  come  with  repentance  ;  with  many  conditions  never 
before  imposed  on  him.  He  must  come  with  humility. 
But  he  can't  come  and  occupy  the  same  place  he  once 
did."  O,  it  was  not  so !  That  father  opened  his  arms 
and  received  him  to  his  breast,  and  ordered  a  feast  spread 
in  honor  of  that  son  ;  for  he  said,  "  The  lost  is  found,  the 
dead  is  alive."  And  once  more  love  and  prosperity  and 
happiness  came  to  that  household.  But  there  was  a  Rad 
ical  in  that  household.  [Laughter.]  That  other  brother 
said  he  didn't  want  him  to  come  back. 

Now,  my  notion  is  that  the  soldiers  accomplished  all 
that  the  war  was  waged  for.  The  question  for  you  men 
to  decide  is,  whether  Congressional  policy  shall  defeat 
that  which  the  soldiers  accomplished.  The  military  power 
of  the  South  was  broken  down  ;  and  the  question  now 
comes  up,  what  shall  be  the  political  policy  that  shall 
maintain  this  Union  and  preserve  the  Constitution?  The 
soldiers  know  what  they  fought  for.  It  was  for  the  main 
tenance  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union ;  and  if  there 
is  a  soldier  here  that  fought  for  Negro  equality,  Negro 
supremacy,  or  to  establish  Negro  government  in  the 
South,  he  has  learned  it  since  the  war  closed.  One  day 
after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Congress  declared  that  the 
war  was  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  Union  and 
maintaining  the  Constitution,  with  all  the  rights,  dignities 
and  immunities  of  the  States  unimpaired  ;  and  that  reso 
lution  stands  unrepealed  to-day.  The  vote  of  the  soldier 


510  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

this  year  is  frightful  to  the  gentlemen  who  have  gone  so 
far  to  defeat  the  very  purposes  and  results  of  the  war  by 
postponing  and  preventing  the  restoration  of  harmony. 
I  will  close  by  thanking  you  for  your  attention.  For 
ten  days  more  we  will  discuss  these  questions  together 
before  the  people  ;  and  as  they  decide  in  October,  so  will 
I  be  content.  I  believe  the  banner  upon  which  is  written 

EQUALITY    OF    TAXATION,     AND    AN    EQUAL     LIABILITY    TO 

SUPPORT  THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  ALL  ITS  BURDENS,  and  the 
great  principles  inscribed  upon  the  Democratic  banner, 
will  triumph  in  October  and  November.  And  should  I 
be  elected  Governor,  I  will  try  to  make,  for  a  return  to  a 
confiding  people,  a  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
position  ;  and  I  am  sure  I  will  find  the  office  in  an  excel 
lent  condition,  having  to  succeed  so  excellent  a  gentle 
man.  [Laughter.]  Our  discussion  can  not  be  other 
wise  than  agreeable  to  the  gentleman  and  myself.  I  ex 
pect  it  will  go  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  questions  in  the 
canvass.  I  am  glad  of  this  opportunity  to  meet  him  be 
fore  the  people  of  the  .several  districts  in  this  discussion. 


VI.    KACE  KELATIONS  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

FROM   A   SPEECH    AT   NEW   ORLEANS, 

February  12,  1870. 

You  will  allow  me  to  speak  of  one  other  question,  which 
is  somewhat  local  and  peculiar  to  yourselves— a  question 
with  which  we  of  the  State  of  Indiana  shall  have  to  deal, 
but  not  to  the  extent  to  which  you  have  to  deal  with  it. 
In  one  way  or  other  the  Radicals  of  Washington  intend 
to  have  it  a  fixed  fact  that  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution  has  been  adopted.  Right  or  wrong,  thev 
intend  it  shall  be  declared  adopted  as  a  part  of  the  Con- 


RACE    RELATIONS    IN    Til  1C    SOUTH.  511 

stitution  of  the  United  States.  Under  that  provision, 
then,  when  it  shall  have  been  declared  to  have  been 
adopted,  the  colored  people  of  the  whole  country  become 
voters  ;  they  become  clothed  with  political  rights,  as  they 
have  been  before  by  Congressional  action,  as  far  as  Con 
gress  could  do  it,  clothed  with  civil  rights.  It  is  a  ques 
tion  for  you  to  consider  very  carefully  what  attitude  you 
men  of  the  South  shall  occupy  toward  the  colored  popu 
lation.  There  is  a  deliberate  purpose  on  the  part  of  the 
adventurers  from  the  North — a  class  of  men  who  are  de 
scribed  as  "  Carpet-Baggers  "  [laughter] — to  appropri 
ate  the  entire  colored  vote  of  the  South  to  their  cause  ; 
and  what  is  their  cause?  It  is  not  your  cause;  it  is 
not  the  colored  man's  cause  [assent]  ;  it  is  the  cause  of 
plunder  [cheers].  And  the  question  presents  itself  in  this 
form  :  Are  you,  men  of  the  South,  willing  that  these  ad 
venturers  shall  appropriate  that  large  vote — in  some  of 
the  Southern  States  a  majority  of  the  entire  vote?  Are 
you  willing  that  this  vote  shall  be  appropriated  for  such  a 
purpose?  [A  voice  :  "  Not  if  we  can  help  it."  Laughter 
and  applause.]  How  can  we  help  it?  Simply  enough. 
It  is  a  question  simply  of  personal  influence  between  you, 
men  of  the  South,  "  to  the  manner  born,"  and  those  who 
have  settled  here,  on  the  one  side,  and  these  hap-hazard 
adventurers  of  the  North  on  the  other  side.  That  is  the 
way  the  question  stands.  New  relations  have  come  to 
exist  between  you  and  the  colored  people  of  the  South. 
How  will  you  place  yourselves  in  regard  to  these  new  re 
lations?  They  have  not  been  of  your  seeking,  and  they 
may,  perhaps,  not  have  been  sought  by  the  Negro ;  but 
he  is  a  voter  in  Louisiana,  as  he  will  be  in  Indiana,  if  the 
Fifteenth  Amendment  is  declared  adopted  ;  and  it  is  not 
worth  your  while,  nor  is  it  worth  my  while,  to  go  back  on 
the  fixed  fact.  The  traveler  in  the  mountain  pass  is  not 
wise,  when  he  overtakes  the  storm,  to  be  casting  his  eyes 
back  upon  the  plain  which  he  has  left.  It  is  his  business 


512  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

to  consider  the  dangers  which  menace  him  at  the  time, 
and  to  save  himself  from  the  threatened  peril.     How  can 
you  do  it?  These  new  relations  are  upon  you.     How  are 
you   to  conduct  yourselves  toward  the  colored  people? 
They  were  your  friends.     There  were  social  relations  be 
tween  you— the  relations   of  master  and  servant.     They 
had  your   confidence  and  you  had  theirs.     Is  it  possible 
that  the  stranger  can  now  come  in  and  make  these  ancient 
servants  of  yours  his  servants  and  your  enemies?     [Ap 
plause.]  There  is  no  occasion,  in  these  new  relations  which 
are  forced  upon  you,  that  you  should  entertain  sentiments 
of  dislike  to  the  Negro  because   of  it.     It  is  not  of  his 
seeking  ;  he  did  not  produce  this  change  of  relations.   The 
altered  condition  of  things  has  been  forced  on  the  coun 
try  and  on  you,  not  by  the  colored  man,  but  by  ambitious 
politicians,  North  and  South,  who  wish  to  make  capital 
out   of  it.     [-That's   so,"  and   cheers.]     I  hope   to  see 
Southern  men  taking  this  weapon,  which  is  placed  in  their 
hands,  and  using  it  for  their  country's  good.   [Applause.] 
You  have  no  cause  to  entertain  prejudice  against  the  col 
ored  people.      [«  We  don't  do  it !  "]     When  your  young 
men  were  fur  off  in  the  field,  and  even  your  aged  men- 
many  of  them  were  absent  during  the  four  years  of  the 
war— you  left  these  colored  men   at  your   homes,  where 
they  stood  sentinels  at  your  doors,  and   your  wives  and 
your  children  were  safe  under  their  protection.     They 
labored  and  cultivated  your  lands,  and  raised  those  pro 
ducts  which  supported  the  armies  in  the  fields.    And  now 
is  it  possible  that  the  foreigner— I  speak  not  of  the  foreigner 
as  a  man  of  another  country,  but  men  foreign  to  your  in 
terests,  men  of  other  sections  of  the  country— is  it  possi 
ble  that  they  shall  come  in  and  make  these  colored  men 
hate  you,  and  destroy  you?  Your  interests  are  the  inter 
ests  of  the  colored  men. 

A  few  colored  men  may  be  brought  around  the  lobbies 
of  the   Legislature ;  they   may  be    temporarily  invested 


RACE    RELATIONS    IN    THE    SOUTH.  513 

with  a  few  offices  ;  but  you  go  to  work  and  persuade  the^ 
•colored  men  that  their  interests  are  claimed  by  just  laws 
alone,  and  that  these  apparent  benefits  which  are  con 
ferred  on  a  few  of  their  number  do  not  go  to  make  up  the 
benefits  of  the  great  body  of  them.  Give  them  to  under 
stand  that  the  offices  which  are  conferred  on  the  colored 
men  here  and  the  colored  men  there  work  a  positive  in 
justice  to  the  people  at  large.  Let  them  understand  that 
with  regard  to  their  civil  rights  you  are  willing  to  give 
them  just  laws.  The  Negro,  of  his  own  motion,  is  not  go 
ing  to  ask  for  social  equality  or  social  rights.  It  is  the 
Northern  adventurer  only  wrho  is  trying  to  agitate  that 
question,  to  make  it  a  ground  \vork  of  ill  feeling  between 
you  and  the  colored  man.  In  1867  Senator  Wilson,  ad 
dressing  an  audience  in  this  square,  declared  this  true 
doctrine,  that  no  law  in  any  land  could  open  any  man's 
parlor  to  him,  and  no  law  could  open  his  parlor  to  any 
other  man.  The  social  rights,  the  social  position  of  a 
man,  depend  upon  himself.  They  are  not  regulated  by 
law,  and  the  man  that  insists  that  there  will  be  social  re 
lations  between  the  whites  and  the  blacks  inconsistent 
with  the  proper  relations  of  those  twro  races,  is  a  friend  to 
neither.  He  is  the  enemy  of  both  races.  [Applause.]  In 
my  judgment  the  colored  people  will  be  satisfied  if  you 
assure  them  that  you  will  give  them  just  laws,  fairly  ad 
ministered.  Do  this,  and  then  the  outside  adventurer 
can  not  turn  their  votes  against  you.  Let  the  colored 
man  understand  that  the  legislation  of  your  State  is  being 
carried  on  to  make  a  few  men  rich  at  the  expense  of 
the  great  body  of  the  people.  Appeal  to  the  colored  man 
to  stand  by  you  in  your  fight  for  honesty,  for  justice,  for 
integrity,  and  for  equal  la\vs  ;  and  that  appeal  will  reach 
his  heart  as  readily  as  it  reaches  the  heart  of  the  great 
body  of  the  white  people.  I  don't  want  you  to  consider 
what  I  have  said  as  the  expression  of  a  man  who  is  well 
33 


514  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

informed  on  the  subject.  I  have  never  been  brought  into- 
.close  contact  with  colored  men  to  any  considerable  ex 
tent.  I  don't  know  much  of  their  habits  ;  I  don't  know 
much  of  the  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  them  ;  but  I 
do  believe  that  the  men  who  have  known  them  from  child 
hood  up — the  men  who  have  been  their  friends  in  times 
past— may,  by  a  proper  course,  restore  that  influence  in 
themselves  which  will  enable  them  to  secure  the  colored 
vote  for  the  good  of  your  State  and  for  the  good  of  the 
country.  Let  the  consolidated  sentiment  of  the  men  of 
Louisiana  he  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Legislature  and 
for  the  right.  You  ask  nothing  that  is  wrong  ;  you  ask  that 
you  may  be  taxed  only  for  the  public  good,  and  that  the 
corrupt  tide  of  special  legislation  shall  be  stopped.  We 
have  much  to  accomplish.  What  is  it  we  intend?  That 
this  Union  shall  be  perpetual ;  that  it  shall  rest  on  the 
Constitution  ;  and  that  all  the  rights,  privileges  and  pre 
rogatives  of  the  State  shall  be  maintained  forever  under 
that  Government ;  and  that  the  National  Union,  thus  sup 
ported  by  States  clothed  with  all  their  rights,  will  be  the 
temple  in  which  freemen  shall  worship  forever  together. 
[Cheers.] 

What  do  we  wish  to  accomplish?  Nothing  that  is 
wrong — everything  that  is  right.  We  wish  to  establish 
in  the  United  States  equal  laws  and  just  taxation.  These 
we  must  have.  This  plunder  of  the  State  and  national 
treasuries  is  becoming  universal.  There  must  be  a  re 
turn  to  a  spirit  of  honesty  in  the  public  service,  both  na 
tional  and  State.  There  is  a  power  greater  than  that  of 
law.  Daniel  Webster,  in  one  of  his  beautiful  orations, 
when  the  question  was  agitating  the  heart  of  the  world 
what  treatment  Russia  would  extend  to  Kossuth,  and 
whether  Russia  would  demand  the  return  of  that  patriot 
when  he  was  under  the  protection  of  Turkey,  said  there 
was  a  power  mightier  than  the  earthquake,  more  terrible 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  515 

than  the  rumbling  of  the  storm — the  judgment  of  man 
kind.  [Cheers.] 

Let  us,  North  and  South,  unite  now  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  the  institutions  of  our  country  in  the  spirit 
in  which  they  were  established  by  the  great  men  who 
founded  this  Government. 

I  thank  you  for  the  attention  you  have  given  me.  I 
thank  you  for  this  welcome.  It  is  my  first  visit  to  the 
Southern  country.  I  thought  that  I  knew  some  of  your 
institutions.  I  thought  I  would  come  and  see  if  I  was 
mistaken.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  course  which  I  felt  it  was 
my  duty  to  take  in  regard  to  the  question  of  Reconstruc 
tion  was  right.  I  thought  it  was  right  at  the  time.  Now 
I  doubt  it  not.  I  know  I  was  right.  [Cheers.]  I  have 
seen  you  face  to  face  ;  I  have  heard  your  gentlemen  talk 
on  this  subject ;  I  know  how  you  feel.  The  past  is  the 
past  for  you  ;  the  future  is  coming,  with  its  weighty  inter 
ests  and  responsibilities.  Let  us  rise  to  meet  the  future. 
Let  us  welcome  it,  and  let  us  be  sure  that  "  Liberty  for 
all  and  oppression  for  none"  is  the  watchward  of  that 
future.  [Loud  cheers.] 


VII.  THE  ISSUES  OF  SEVENTY-FOUR 

SPEECH   OPENING   THE   DEMOCRATIC   STATE   CAMPAIGN. 

The  Wigwam,  Indianapolis,  September  14, 1874. 

The  fortunes  of  the  Republican  party  had  become  so 
desperate  at  the  late  adjournment  of  Congress,  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  people  in  a  Congressional 
address,  to  stand  by  the  leaders.  The  address  was  signed 
by  thirty-nine  members,  constituting  the  Congressional 
committee.  General  John  Coburn,  of  this  State,  was  one 
of  the  thirty-nine.  They  ask  to  be  continued  in  power, 


516  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

and  their  army  of  eighty  thousand  office  holders  to  be 
perpetuated  on  the  pay  rolls,  because  they  are  good  and 
the  Democrats  are  bad.  And  they  go  back  thirty  years 
before  the  war  to  prove  the  latter.  I  think  no  Indianian 
has  a  right  to  sign  a  paper  saying  that  from  1830  to  I86o 
there  is  hardly  a  memory  left  connected  with  the  control 
of  public  affairs  "  at  which  the  nation  should  not  blush." 
During  that  thirty  years  our  population  increased  from 
twelve  to  thirty-one  millions,  and  the  wealth  and  com 
merce  of  the  country  correspondingly  advanced.  The 
resources  were  gradually  but  steadily  developed.  The 
people  were  prosperous,  contented  and  happy.  You 
know  that  bad  government  could  not  bear  such  fruit. 
That  period  included  the  greater  part  of  Jackson's  ad 
ministration,  which  is  yet  distinguished  for  integrity, 
firmness  and  statesmanship,  and  which  strengthened  the 
confidence  of  the  world  in  free  and  republican  institu 
tions.  During  that  period  Texas  was  annexed,  a  coun 
try  large  enough  for  three  great  States  ;  and  now,  after 
the  public  lands  under  the  control  of  Congress  have  been 
so  largely  granted  away,  no  portion  of  our  country  offers 
greater  advantages  to  our  people,  who  need  and  seek 
cheap  homes  and  farms,  than  Texas.  That  period  in 
cludes  the  administration  of  the  treasury  by  James  Guth- 
rie,  of  Kentucky,  a  great  man,  who  did  not  suffer  the 
loss  of  one  dollar  of  the  people's  money.  That  genera 
tion  has  passed  away,  but  it  has  left  many  names  illus 
trious  for  patriotic  devotion  to  country  and  elevated 
statesmanship.  What  think  you  of  Jackson,  of  Benton, 
and  Cass,  and  Silas  Wright,  of  Marcy  and  Woodbury, 
and  of  Douglas?  Did  they  not  always  and  everywhere 
vindicate  their  country's  right  and  honor ;  and  in  the 
great  contests  with  the  giants  of  the  Whig  party,  were 
they  not  able  with  dignity  and  credit  to  maintain  them 
selves,  their  party  and  their  cause?  Over  them,  their 
works  and  their  achievements,  this  Congressional  com- 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  517 

mittee  of  thirty-nine,  moved  by  the  spirit  of  modest  vir 
tue,  and  like  the  sons  of  Noah  going  backward,  would 
throw  the  mantle  of  forgetfulness.  Who  are  the  com 
mittee  of  thirty-nine,  good  souls  and  pure,  who  are  so 
ashamed,  and  would  have  the  country  blush  for  what  our 
fathers  did?  I  will  not  name  them  all ;  that  would  be  too 
much.  So  much  excellence  and  virtue  would  overcome 
you  as  an  excess  of  light  would  blind  you.  Chandler; 
Cameron  ;  Conover,  of  Florida  ;  Mitchell,  of  Oregon  ; 
Cobb,  of  Kansas  ;  some  delegates  from  the  Territories  ; 
and  Stewart,  of  Nevada. 

The  meeting  of  the  committee  for  a  last  reading  of  the 
address  must  have  presented  a  scene  of  thrilling  interest. 
The  delicate  sensibilities  of  Chandler  were  thoroughly 
aroused  by  the  sentiment  that  he  lived  in  times  of  such 
elevated  purity,  and  that  he  was  not  exposed  to  the  cor 
rupt  influence  of  association  with  Andrew  Jackson. 

At  first  Mr.  Cameron  was  disturbed  by  some  obscure 
reference  to  official  integrity,  which  was  hinted  at  as 
proper,  for  it  suggested  the  disagreeable  memory  of  the 
resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  during  the 
war,  which  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  abdicate  the 
War  Department ;  but  when  he  perceived  the  blow  struck 
at  the  men  of  the  past  he  was  comforted,  for  they  hit  that 
granite  man,  William  L.  Marcy,  who  set  an  example  of 
illiberality  and  unkindness  in  that  office  in  his  conduct 
of  the  Mexican  War,  in  not  allowing  his  friends  and  par 
tisans  to  grow  rich  off  of  the  army  and  the  people. 

Mitchell,  of  Oregon,  had  been  a  little  unfortunate  in 
coming  into  the  Senate  with  a  very  disagreeable  odor 
about  his  character — so  much  so,  indeed,  that  others  were 
restless  in  sitting  in  the  chamber  with  him  ;  but  that  was 
past ;  fumigatory  explanations  had  been  made,  and  they 
had  become  accustomed  to  it,  as  indeed  they  have  lately 
become  accustomed  to  a  good  many  new  things  ;  but  his 
distress  on  that  account  was  forgotten  in  the  abasement 


518  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

which  he  felt  in  contemplating  so  much  above  him  the 
sublime  faith  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  man's  right  and 
capacity  for  self-government. 

Senator  Clayton,  of  Arkansas,  could  properly  sign  such 
an  address,  because  he  had  been  investigated  and  white 
washed  ;  but  I  could  not  tell  why  the  gentle  delegates, 
political  eunuchs,  from  Colorado,  New  Mexico  and  Ari 
zona,  should  display  so  much  passion  toward  the  men  of 
the  past.  But  upon  reflection  I  knew  it  was  because  they 
had  seen  so  much  of  the  Indian  service  out  there,  and  so 
appreciated  its  purity,  its  justice  to  the  white  man,  and  its 
care  for  the  Indian,  that  they  could  not  endure  the  stern 
and  positive  way  in  which  Jackson  made  the  Indian  obey 
the  authority  of  the  country,  and  the  white  man  respect 
the  rights  of  the  Indian. 

True,  the  service  has  been  unfortunate  of  late  ;  it  costs 
about  $7, 000,000  for  the  supplies  and  maintenance, whereas 
it  used  to  cost,  when  the  number  was  far  greater,  but 
$3,000,000.  And  if  we  include  the  military  government 
and  control,  the  cost  must  be  many  times  greater  ;  and 
the  misfortune  is,  that  the  Indian  is  becoming  worse,  and 
the  borders  more  insecure. 

But  if  I  am  mistaken  in  supposing  that  it  was  the  In 
dian  service  which  so  moved  the  pure  minds  of  these  dele 
gates,  then  it  must  be  their  long  residence  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  their  observation  of  the  highest  develop 
ment  of  their  party  in  the  government  and  improvement 
of  the  District  of  Columbia.  True,  a  terrible  and  crush 
ing  debt  has  been  created,  reaching  nearly  $30,000,000, 
which  Congress  will  probably  pay  out  of  the  Treasury  ; 
and  corruption  bore  sway,  so  that  even  the  form  of  repub 
lican  government  was  abandoned,  and  a  Roman  trium 
virate  was  established  and  rules  the  capital  of  the  nation. 
But  what  care  these  delegates  for  all  that?  The}-  seethe 
grandeur  and  the  splendor  of  the  city,  rivaling  the  seats 
of  monarchy  in  the  Old  World,  and  they  look  with  con- 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  519 

tempt  upon  the  cheap  and  plain  style  that  prevailed  during 
the  thirty  years  which  they  denounce.  It  may  have  been 
this  feeling  that  caused  them  to  unite  with  Gen.  Coburn 
and  the  others  in  this  sentiment  taken  from  the  address  : 
"  It  has  been  loudly  vaunted  that  those  were  cheap  ad 
ministrations.  Compared  with  the  expenditures  of  these 
times,  they  were  cheap,  very  cheap.  Compared  with  their 
worth  to  the  country,  they  were  probably  the  most  profli 
gate  the  world  ever  saw.  They  cost  the  people  from 
$50,000,000  to  $75,000,000  per  annum.  Those  millions 
maintained  for  us  the  empty  pageant  we  called  govern 
ment.  It  was  the  worst  pageant  that  could  be  contrived. 
It  was  not  even  showy  ;  it  was  vulgar." 

That,  it  seems,  is  clear  enough.  The  simple  and  unos 
tentatious  style  of  the  past  is  to  be  held  in  contempt  as 
vulgar.  Then  men  labored  faithfully  and  accounted  truly 
in  every  public  trust ;  then  taxes  were  low  ;  and  the  laws 
were  plain  and  easily  'understood  ;  then  influence  and 
respectability  were  sought  and  won  because  of  official  in 
tegrity.  Some  old  men  yet  live/who  recollect  those  times. 
But  now  government  is  to  be  made  a  pageant.  A  glitter 
ing,  gaudy,  pretentious  and  -parvenu  aristocracy  is  to 
take  the  place  of  a  despised  and  crushed  Democracy. 
The  people  are  to  be  made  contented  by  brilliant  and 
costly  show,  and  the  display  of  power.  By  such  a  course 
Louis  Napoleon  maintained  himself  for  a  while  upon  the 
throne  of  France  ;  but  his  failure  and  disgrace  came  upon 
him  and  his  people  when  the  hollow  structure  of  his  au 
thority  was  brought  against  the  real  power  of  a  solid 
people. 

Let  us  look  at  some  of  the  specific  charges  in  the  ad 
dress  a^iinst  Democratic  rule.  "  We  bullied  Austria 
out  of  a  Hungarian  refugee."  That  was  the  case  of  Mar 
tin  Koszta,  a  Hungarian  by  birth,  who  had  emigrated  to 
this  country,  had  lived  in  New  York  one  year  and  eleven 
months,  and  in  proper  form,  according  to  our  laws,  had 


520  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States.  In  1853  he  went  to  Europe  on  business,  carrying- 
an  authenticated  copy  of  his  declaration,  and  intending 
soon  to  return.  While  at  Smyrna,  he  was  seized  by  the 
emissaries  of  Austria  and  forcibly  taken  on  board  the 
Hussar,  an  Austrian  brig-of-war,  and  held  in  close  con 
finement,  to  be  carried  back  for  punishment  by  that  cruel 
government  because  of  his  aspirations  for  liberty. 

Captain  Ingraham,  of  our  navy,  was  then  in  command 
of  the  sloop-of-war  St.  Louis,  in  the  Mediterranean,  and, 
coming  to  anchor  at  Smyrna,  was  told  by  our  consul  what 
had  taken  place.  After  consulting  our  representative  at 
Constantinople,  he  demanded  of  the  Austrian  commander 
the  surrender  of  Koszta,  with  the  assurance  that  he  would 
be  taken  if  not  surrendered.  He  was  surrendered,  and 
placed  under  the  protection  of  the  French  Consul,  and  re 
turned  to  the  United  States  ;  and  Austria  never  laid  her 
iron  hand  upon  him  again.  For  his  gallant  and  noble 
conduct,  Congress  voted  Captain  Ingraham  a  medal. 
Mr.  Marcy,  as  Secretary  of  State,  in  a  correspondence 
of  extraordinary  ability,  maintained  and  vindicated  our 
country's '  position  and  conduct,  and  established  public 
judgment  in  our  favor.  Do  you  regret  that  Koszta  was 
not  left  an  Austrian  prisoner  ?  If  not,  what  think  you  of 
this  charge  against  the  Democracy  by  the  Republican 
Congressmen  ? 

The  next  charge  is  in  these  words :  "We  despoiled 
Mexico  of  a  portion  of  her  territory."  By  treaty,  at  the 
close  of  the  Mexican  war,  we  acquired  New  Mexico  and 
California  ;  we  hold  them  still.  From  the  latter  we  have 
realized  untold  wealth.  But  is  it  true  that  the  acquisition 
was  not  the  result  of  legitimate  war  and  fair  treaty,  that 
it  was  the  act  of  force  by  the  strong  over  the  weak,  that 
it  was  robbery,  and  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  in  that 
war  were  despoilers?  If  that  be  so,  then,  however  proud 
the  people  have  been  of  the  achievements  of  the  soldiers,. 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  521 

and  of  the  magnificence  of  the  acquisition,  ought  not  the 
country  to  be  restored  ?  No  ;  the  question  was  long  since 
settled.  It  is  ours  by  legitimate  and  proper  war  and  fair 
treaty,  and  the  demand  made  that  we  should  blush  be 
cause  of  that  war  and  its  results,  only  shows  their  inabil 
ity  to  find  real  fault  in  Democratic  administrations. 

They  also  charge,  "We  demolished  Grey  town."  That 
is  true.  It  was  in  1854.  -^  was  on  tne  ^ne  of  travel  and 
commerce  between  the  Atlantic  States  and  California  ;  and 
after  that,  the  semi-barbarians  and  half-clothed  savages 
of  that  locality  no  more  interrupted  our  commerce  or 
murdered  our  people. 

By  what  authority  and  in  what  manner  our  internal 
commerce  shall  be  regulated,  is  a  question  of  present  and 
deep  interest,  and  party  managers  who  ask  an  indefinite 
extension  of  power  should  declare  their  policy  in  unmis 
takable  terms.  In  their  addresses  the  members  of  Con 
gress  evade  it,  except  to  say  that  whatever  may  or  may 
not  be  expedient  to  be  done,  "  only  the  Republican  party 
can  be  relied  upon  to  do  it."  Why  so?  Has  that  party 
not  been  in  power,  both  State  and  national,  long  enough 
to  have  done  something,  if  its  leaders  were  really  in  favor 
of  anything? 

In  respect  to  the  proposition  that  Congress  shall  build 
a  double  track  railway  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Atlan 
tic,  the  Congressional  address  says,  "This  is  worthy  of 
careful  consideration."  And  in  respect  to  the  proposed 
expenditure  of  $20,000,000  per  year  by  Congress  to  open 
or  enlarge  several  water-channels  over  the  country,  they 
say,  "We  invite  your  earnest  and  careful  consideration 

of  that  proposal."  Can  you  tell  what  they  are  in  favor 
ofp  #  *  * 

This  alone  appears  clear,  that  they  oppose  the  regula 
tion  of  fares  and  freights  by  public  authority,  and  favor 
leaving  their  regulation  to  the  companies.  Whatever  you 
think  of  the  position,  the  reasons  given  are  vicious.  "If 


522  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

the  people  fix  the  rates  they  are  likely  to  be  too  low, 
and  capital  will  be  driven  off."  Why  so?  Intelligent 
legislation  would  regard  railroads  as  important  public 
agencies,  to  be  protected  if  not  encouraged.  But  they 
added  :  "  If  the  company  makes  the  mistake  and  charges 
too  much,  no  one  is  obliged  to  employ  it.  The  producer 
does  his  own  carrying  before  the  railway  is  built.  He 
has  the  perfect  right  to  do  so  after  it  is  built."  That 
language  in  the  mouth  of  the  company  itself  would  be 
justly  offensive.  It  does  not  correctly  state  the  relations 
between  the  companies  and  societies.  The  companies  are 
created  by  law,  as  artificial  persons,  and  clothed  with  im 
portant  privileges,  because  of  the  benefits  the  construc 
tion  and  maintenance  of  their  roads  will  be  to  the  com 
munity.  Except  for  that,  they  would  not  exist.  Except 
for  that  they  would  not  be  clothed  by  law  with  that  qual 
ity  of  sovereignty  which  enables  them,  like  the  State,  to 
appropriate  private  property.  But  for  the  fact  that  thev 
are  public,  and  for  the  public,  and  not  private,  they  could 
not  enter  upon,  condemn  and  appropriate  the  lands  and 
timber  of  the  citizen.  This  view  is  in  accordance  with 
legislation,  judicial  decisions  and  public  policy.  And  the 
companies  can  not  say  to  the  producers,  nor  can  these 
members  of  Congress  say  for  them,  "  If  the  fares  and 
freights  are  too  high,  you  can  carry  your  own  produce  to 
market  as  you  used  to  do."  The  public  corporation  must 
serve  the  public  at  reasonable  charges.  That  is  the  pur 
pose  of  its  existence,  and  the  advantage  of  the  members 
is  but  an  incident.  Highways,  whether  rail  or  gravel, 
might  be  made  by  the  State  directly,  and  in  every  respect 
would  be  under  State  control.  The  public  corporation 
created  to  build  and  maintain  such  highway  stands,  in 
respect  to  its  powers  and  its  duties,  in  the  place  of  the 
State.  It  is  a  creature  of  the  State,  endowed  with  a  part 
of  its  powers,  to  serve  the  public.  And  if  such  a  corpora 
tion  refuses  to  serve  the  public  at  reasonable  rates,  the 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  523 

State  may  compel  such  service.  I  suppose  the  rule  in 
respect  to  a  private  corporation  would  be  different.  In 
this  I  do  not  refer  to  the  case  in  which  the  State  may  have 
expressly  relinquished  the  control  to  the  corporation  itself. 
In  this  State,  the  power  is  expressly  reserved  to  amend 
the  general  laws  under  which  railroad  companies  have 
been  organized  since  1853. 

If  possible,  the  other  remedy  against  exorbitant  charges, 
suggested  by  the  Congressional  address,  is  more  objec 
tionable.  It  is,  that  the  State  shall  buy  the  road  from  the 
company,  or  build  another  road  by  its  side.  It  is  not  prob 
able  that  the  people  of  Indiana  will  ever  again  permit  the 
State  to  enter  upon  the  hazardous  work  of  constructing  or 
managing  works  of  internal  improvements.  The  reliable 
remedy  is  to  be  found  in  the  wise  and  prudent  exercise 
of  the  powers  which  the  State  has  over  her  own  institu 
tions. 

Under  the  pretext  of  regulating  commerce  among  the 
States,  the  dangerous  scheme  has  been  devised  of  Con 
gressional  intervention  and  control  over  State  corpora 
tions.  The  real  purpose  is  to  strengthen  Federal  author 
ity,  and  promote  the  concentration  of  power.  Can  you 
conceive  a  scheme  of  greater  danger  to  the  reserved  rights 
of  the  States  and  of  the  people?  These  corporations  exist 
by  State  authority,  and  their  powers  are  defined  by  State 
laws,  which  Congress  has  no  right  to  modify.  Should 
Congress,  by  Commissioners  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi 
dent,  take  the  management  of  railroads  and  lines  of  tele 
graph,  every  person  in  the  employment  of  the  companies 
will,  to  some  extent,  be  made  dependent  upon  this  new 
power,  and  made  to  do  its  bidding.  Give  this  new  power, 
this  enormous  patronage,  to  the  President,  and  the  prob 
lem  of  the  nomination  for  the  third  term  is  settled.  Can 
you  estimate  the  corruption  it  would  produce?  Senators 
Morton  and  Pratt  both  advocate  the  appointment  of  Com 
missioners  with  power  to  fix  the  fares  and  freights.  They 


524  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

concede  that  the  same  rates  can  not  be  adopted  for  all  the 
roads  ;  that  they  must  be  adjusted  according* to  cost  of 
construction  and  repairs,  and  amount  of  business,  etc. 
Who  will  be  the  Commissioners  with  such  powers  to  regu 
late  rates  as  between  the  companies  themselves  and  be 
tween  them  and  the  people?  With  the  President's  capac 
ity  for  bringing  into  office  men  not  known  to  the  country, 
we  might  expect  a  new  Sanborn,  an  unheard-of  Richard 
son,  a  Tennessee  Murphy,  a  Sawyer  and  a  Shepherd.  *  * 

To  secure  a  fair  management  of  railroads  and  a  just 
rate  of  transportation,  are  the  farmers  and  mechanics  not 
safer  in  the  hands  of  their  immediate  representatives  in 
the  State  Legislature  than  in  the  hands  of  Congress  or  of 
such  Commissioners?  The  responsibility  to  the  people  is 
more  direct,  and  the  representatives  are  more  in  your 
sympathy,  and  corrupting  influences  are  less  powerful. 
The  Credit  Mobilier  grew  out  of  a  Congressional  enter 
prise.  Within  the  past  three  years  the  Pennsylvania  rail 
road  was  able  in  Congress  to  make  its  own  selections  of 
extensive  and  valuable  ground  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
over  a  powerful  opposition.  The  Central  Pacific  railroad 
came  very  near  carrying  through  Congress  a  grant  of  an 
island  of  immense  value  in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco, 
although  it  was  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  Govern 
ment  for  military  purposes,  and  was  so  reported  by  the 
army  engineers.  Home  interests  are  safest  under  home 
management.  The  proceeding  to  regulate  the  relations 
between  the  railroad  corporations  and  the  producers  by 
Washington  City  Commissioners  would  present  the  spec 
tacle  of  the  jury  eating  and  drinking  in  the  dining-hall 
of  the  rich  defendant,  while  the  poorer  suitor,  in  his  hum 
ble  home,  bewails  his  unequal  fortune. 

The  expression  in  favor  of  a  return  to  specie  payments 
is  very  general ;  but  the  real  question  is,  When  and  how 
can  that  be  accomplished?  So  long  as  the  supply  of  coin 
is  so  small  as  compared  with  the  paper  money,  it  is  im- 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  525 

possible.  The  effort  now  would  probably  result  in  com 
mercial  disaster.  The  people  so  believe.  No  sentiment 
attributed  to  Mr.  Greeley  in  1872  was  more  hurtful  to  his 
political  fortunes  than  the  demand  for  immediate  specie 
payments.  To  render  it  possible  without  hurt  to  the 
country,  coin  and  paper  must  come  nearer  together  in 
quantity.  They  will  then  be  nearer,  if  not  uniform,  in 
value.  How  shall  that  be  brought  about?  By  reducing 
the  paper  currency?  With  the  present  burden  of  national, 
State  and  local  taxation,  and  the  large  volume  of  other 
indebtedness  to  be  provided  for,  that  can  not  be  borne. 
It  would  cramp  business  and  paralyze  labor.  No  one 
desires  a  return  to  specie  payments  more  earnestly  than 
myself,  for  I  believe  gold  and  silver  are  the  real  stand 
ards  of  value,  universal  and  permanent.  As  I  had  occa 
sion  once  before  to  say,  the  existence  of  commercial 
mediums  of  different  values — one  description  of  money 
for  one  class  and  purpose,  and  another  for  a  different 
class  and  purpose — is  too  serious  an  evil  to  be  long  en 
dured.  All  the  money  of  the  country  should  be  of  uni 
form  value  and  readily  convertible.  But  we  are  not  in 
that  condition.  Our  paper  money  exceeds  the  coin  by 
nearly  five  dollars  to  one.  How  shall  we  bring  them 
nearer  together  in  quantity  that  they  may  approach  and 
meet  in  value?  Shall  we  commence  at  the  top  and  tear 
down,  or  at  the  bottom  and  build  up?  Business,  enter 
prise  and  labor,  every  important  interest  of  the  country, 
demand  that  the  volume  of  the  currency  be  maintained 
to  meet  their  requirements  ;  but  every  interest  will  be 
strengthened  by  increasing  the  supply  of  coin.  How  is 
that  to  be  accomplished?  By  encouraging  an  increased 
production  of  our  great  staples  that  command  the  foreign 
market ;  by  reducing  our  expenditures  in  foreign  pur 
chases,  and  by  reversing  the  fatal  policy  which  has 
sought  to  make  our  debt  a  foreign  debt.  When  we  pur 
chase  less  of  foreign  goods  and  sell  more  of  our  produc- 


526 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 


tions  abroad,  and  cease  to  pay  so  much  of  the  interest 
on  our  debt  abroad  and  pay  it  to  our  own  citizens,  the 
current 'of  gold  will  turn  toward  our  shores,  and  then 
specie  payments  will  be  certain,  natural  and  permanent, 
and  will  become  the  basis  of  an  enduring  prosperity. 

The  declaration  in  our  State   platform   that  the  five- 
twenty  bonds  should  be  paid  in  treasury  notes,  has  at 
tracted  much  attention.     The  subject  for  some  years  has 
not  been  considered  by  the  people.   In  1868,  when  it  was 
a  living  and  a  practical  question,  I  thought,  and  so  at 
tempted  to  maintain,  that  the  laws  under  which  the  bonds 
and  greenbacks  were  issued  allowed  the  payment  in  the 
latter.     I  have  no  doubt  the  laws  admitted  that  construc 
tion  ;  that  it  was  the  proper  construction.     And  I  think, 
no  subsequent  legislation  should  have  changed  the  mode 
of  payment.     By  the  first    act  which    President    Grant 
signed  in   1869,  the  faith  and  honor  of  the  country  are 
pledged  to  the  payment  in  gold.     That  was  an  act  not 
required  by  any  circumstances  in  the  condition  of  our 
affairs  ;  it  was  a  special  favor  to  the  holders  of  the  bonds,, 
to  which  they  were  not  entitled  ;  and  it  was  a  corres 
ponding  wrong  to  the  tax-payers.     Under  it  many  mil 
lions  of  premium  have  been  paid  which  the  contract  did 
not  authorize.     But  the  present  question  is,  what  is  the 
effect  of  the   act  of   1869,  pledging  payment  in    gold? 
Upon  that  question  I  have  no  doubts.     Congress  passed 
it  and  the  President  approved  and  signed  it.     They  had 
the  constitutional  power.         *         * 

It  is  because  the  act  of  1869  was  thus  binding  that  it 
was  so  grievous  a  wrong  upon  the  people.  The  party 
which  did  it  should  be  held  politically  responsible.  This 
question  is  rapidly  losing  practical  importance,  for  the 
bonds  have  been  converted  in  large  quantities  and  are 
now  being  converted  into  five  per  cents,  carrying  the 
promise  of  payment  in  gold  upon  their  face.  That  is  one 
of  the  wrongs  resulting  from  the  act  of  1869.  *  * 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  527 

It  is  now  so  noticeable  a  fact  that  no  one  can  fail  to  see 
it,  that  immediately  preceding  the  important  elections 
troubles  are  excited  between  the  whites  and  blacks  in  the 
South.  It  has  two  effects.  It  is  made  the  pretext  for 
sending  troops  into  the  Southern  States  and  controlling 
the  elections  for  the  Radicals  ;  and  it  is  used  in  the  North 
to  arouse  Radical  passion,  and  thus  carry  the  elections 
there.  Now,  as  these  are  the  only  results  that  can  fol 
low,  who  does  it?  The  emissaries  of  the  party  that  makes 
a  gain  by  it. 

My  countrymen,  we  must  look  squarely  and  honestly 
at  this  question  of  the  strife  between  the  two  races. 

During  the  war,  when  the  Southern  men  were  off  in 
the  field,  there  were  no  insurrections.  The  colored  peo 
ple  preserved  the  peace  at  home.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  there  was  harmony  between  the  races  until  your  un 
fortunate  policy  of  Reconstruction  was  started.  In  that 
you  undertook  to  base  the  machinery  of  society  upon  one 
element,  and  to  exclude  intelligence.  You  stripped  the 
white  man  of  political  privileges,  and  clothed  the  Negro 
with  political  power.  The  races  had  been  harmonious  ; 
but  at  once,  and  for  a  purpose,  you  placed  them  in  hos 
tile  attitude.  You  left  many  of  the  hangers-on  of  the 
army  in  the  South  ;  men  who  went  not  to  fight,  but  to 
plunder.  They  were  your  emissaries  ;  they  organized 
the  Negroes  into  a  political  party.  In  every  neighbor 
hood  they  formed  them  into  oath-bound  secret  societies, 
called  Loyal  Leagues.  They  were  sworn  to  stand  to 
gether.  In  these  societies,  from  which  the  Southern  white 
man  was  excluded,  they  were  taught  to  regard  the  white 
men  as  their  enemies,  and  that  they  would  soon  receive 
their  property.  Thus  they  were  arrayed  in  antagonism 
to  the  whites.  The  work  was  done  thoroughly,  and  by 
it  you  held  political  power  in  many  States.  But  those 
States  are  crushed  and  ruined  now.  We  can  not,  we 
must  not,  go  on  in  this  direction.  The  welfare  of  our 


528 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 


country  calls  for  a  change.  Men  must  be  placed  in  power 
who  will  relieve  society  from  these  dangerous  influences, 
who  will  stand  honestly  between  the  two  races,  and  see 
to  it  that  each  is  fairly  and  fully  protected  in  its  rights  ; 
who  will  see  that  harmony,  based  upon  justice,  is  res 
tored,  so  that  labor  shall  be  secure,  and  capital  shall  not 
be  afraid. 

The  South  is  now  being  covered  with  troops.     If  Gen 
eral  Grant  would  investigate  for  himself,  I  would  not  fear 
the  result.   In  many  respects  I  admire  him.    He  is  a  man 
of  great  ability,  and  does  not  hate  people  merely  because 
they  oppose  his  corrupt  party.    Two  years  ago  I  said  that 
we  were  fighting  the  "ring"  that  controlled  him,  more 
than  the  President  himself;  and  now  we  have  to  fear  the 
bad  influences  that  surround  him.   He  will  not  investigate. 
He  will  take  his  information  from  the  most  malignant  man 
in  the  country,  the  Attorney  General.     The  men  who  are 
maintaining  such  baleful  authority  in  the  South  crawl  into 
the  office  of  the  Attorney  General  and  do  their  work.  It  is 
a  dreadful  thing  that  our  army  must  be  used  to  perpetuate 
a  rule  so  hurtful  to  the  whole  country,  such  as  prevails 
in  South  Carolina,  Florida,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana. 
Whole  communities  and  the  business  and  production  of 
the  country  are  being  played  upon  for  political  results. 
The  welfare  of  the  country  calls  for  a  change.  Let  the  sen 
timent  be  felt  everywhere,  from  the  palace  of  the  capitalist 
to  the  cabin  of  the  Negro,  that  complete  and  exact  justice 
shall  prevail,  and  then  all  will  once  more  bow  to  public 
authority.     It  was  so  once;  it  may  be  so  again.     The 
party  in  power  has  failed.     Let  us  not  be  led  by  hate  to 
utter  ruin.         *         * 

^  I  will  ask  your  attention  to  some  questions  more  imme 
diately  affecting  our  State.  At  a  special  session  of  the 
Legislature  in  1872,  an  unjust  and  wicked  law  was  passed 
dividing  the  State  into  Senatorial  and  Representative  dis 
tricts.  It  was  done  to  enable  the  party  to  hold  political 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  529 

power  in  the  Legislature  against  a  majority  of  the  peo 
ple.  Governor  Baker  would  not  sign  it.  No  man  ought 
to  have  voted  for  it.  They  now  propose  to  appropriate 
and  use  the  advantages  of  the  crime  by  securing  the  re 
flection  of  Senator  Pratt.  The  history  of  such  nefarious 
efforts  has  generally  been  that  they  turn  against  the  guilty 
party.  How  shall  it  be  now?  Will  the  people  of  Indiana 
become  a  direct  party  to  it  by  so  voting  as  to  give  them 
the  benefit  of  the  wrong?  Let  us  see.  *  * 

I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  this  ap 
portionment  may  be  changed  by  the  next  Legislature. 
I  think  it  is  a  grave  question  whether  it  must  not  stand 
until  another  enumeration  is  made  at  the  expiration  of  six 
years  from  the  last,  as  required  by  the  Constitution.  But 
the  people  may  and  should  rebuke  the  outrage  as  a  blow 
at  popular  representation  and  republican  government. 
They  should  rebuke  it  by  defeating  its  purpose,  by  pre 
venting  the  misrepresentation  intended.  It  is  a  gratifi 
cation  to  me  that,  in  my  first  address  to  the  people  as  a 
candidate  in  1873,  in  the  expectation  that  the  Legislature 
would  be  Democratic,  I  said :  "It  will  be  the  duty  of  the 
Legislature  to  redistrict  the  State  for  legislative  and  Con 
gressional  purposes.  Not  only  the  Constitution,  but  just 
and  honest  representation,  requires  that  the  apportion 
ment  shall  be  made  among  the  counties  according  to  their 
voting  population.  It  is  a  shame  if  the  people  allow  the 
adjustment  of  representation  to  be  made  upon  any  other 
basis.  It  is  an  aggravated  fraud  if  some  counties  be  al- 
Jowed  more,  and  other  counties  less,  than  their  proportion 
of  Senators  and  Representatives,  because  of  the  political 
opinions  of  their  people.  The  apportionment  of  1 867  was 
thus  tainted.  Should  the  men  who  support  me  this  year 
have  the  control  of  the  Legislature,  I  hope  they  wrill  be 
governed  by  the  Constitution  and  justice  only,  in  making 
the  new  apportionment ;  for  it  is  right,  and  it  will  prove 
34 


530 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 


politically  expedient  and  wise.     For  that  my  labor  and 
my  influence  shall  be  given/' 

I  think  you  know  that  the  corrupting  sentiment  has  been 
growing  that  unfair  advantages  are  right  in  politics,  and 
that  private  gain  may  be  made  of  political  success.     I 
think  you  know  that  from  that  sentiment  the  corruption 
has  come  which  is  undermining  our  institutions.     Then, 
need  I  specify  the  large  sums  of  money  of  which  the  peo 
ple  were  defrauded  by  the  Sanborn  contracts,  by  the  Credit 
Mobilier,   by  the  New  York  Custom  House  frauds,    so 
hurtful  to  our  commerce,  and  so  wrong  to  the  merchants? 
Need  I  speak  of  the  great  fortunes  built  upon  the  District' 
of  Columbia  corruption,  and  of  the  scores   of  investiga 
tions  which  the  clamor  of  an  outraged  people  compelled? 
Need  I  mention  that  for  all  these  none  of  the  guilty  par 
ties  has  been  punished  save   only  one  old  man  expelled 
from  the  House,  while  others  have  been  rewarded  and 
now  hold  high  and  lucrative  office?  Why,  is  it  not  enough 
to  turn  to  this  unparalleled  legislative  fraud   in  our  own 
State?  Would  you  again  trust  a  man  who  would  corruptly 
wrong  even  an  enemy?  Would  you  employ  him  in  your 
store  or  office  or  shop  or  on  your  farm?     Then  how  can 
you  trust  the  affairs  of  government  in  the  hands  of  a  party 
which  requires  its  legislators  to  despoil  a  part  of  the  peo 
ple  of  their  rights,  and  to  bestow  them  upon  others?    Do 
they  not  all  equally  pay  taxes,  and  bear  the   public   bur 
dens?  Why,  then,  shall  some  be  robbed  of  their  rights  as 
citizens?  The  industries  and  resources  of  the  country  will 
restore  the  millions  lost  by  the  frauds  and  corruptions  to 
which  I  have  referred  ;  but  who  shall  restore  to  the  peo 
ple  of  many  counties  their  lost  privilege  and  right  of  an 
equal  voice  in  making  the  laws  which  all  must  obey? 

I  will  detain  you  to  speak  only  of  one  other  character 
istic  of  the  last  Legislature.  I  speak  of  its  own  extrava 
gance  in  the  use  of  the  public  money.  The  general  and 
special  sessions  continued  one  hundred  and  one  days,  and 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  531 

the  expenses  were  $199,563.32,  as  appears  by  the  report 
of  Mr.  Glover,  as  Treasurer  of  the  State,  page  10.  That 
includes  only  legislative  expenses.  It  was  at  the  rate  of 
$1,976  per  day.  The  Legislature  of  1871  was  in  session 
only  fifty-three  days.  The  important  measures  and  busi 
ness  of  the  session  were  defeated  by  the  resignation  of 
Republicans  in  the  House,  so  as  to  destroy  the  quorum, 
and  thus  stop  business.  The  breaking  up  of  the  Legis 
lature  was  revolutionary  in  its  character,  and  not  justified 
by  any  public  consideration,  or  sufficient  reason  in  the 
condition  of  its  business.  That  proceeding  made  the 
session  of  1871  only  fifty-three  days,  and  the  expenses 
were  $82,520,  as  appears  by  Mr.  Ryan's  report,  page  9. 
This  was  at  the  rate  of  $1,557  per  day,  and  was  $4191688 
per  day  than  the  expenses  of  the  Legislature  of  1873. 
But  it  is  proper  to  add  that  the  pay  of  members  of  the 
Legislature  was  increased  at  the  special  session  from  five 
to  eight  dollars  per  day.  That  increase  of  three  dollars 
per  day,  for  one  hundred  Representatives  and  fifty  Sena 
tors,  was  $450  per  day,  but  applied  only  to  the  regular 
session  of  sixty-one  days.  It  amounted  to  $27,450,  and 
deducting  that  from  the  $199,563  leaves  $172,113  as  the 
expenses  of  the  one  hundred  and  one  days  excluding  in 
creased  pay,  or  $1,704  per  day,  which  was  $147  per  day 
excluding  increased  pay,  more  than  the  Democratic  Leg 
islature  two  years  before. 

I  think  the  Democracy  on  the  i3th  of  October  are  ex 
pected  to  declare  in  plain  terms  what  legislation  you  ap 
prove  in  regard  to  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors.  My 
official  duty  places  me  in  a  responsible  relation  to  this 
subject.  I  signed  the  law  now  in  force  known  as  the 
Baxter  bill,  though  I  thought  some  of  its  provisions  un 
wise  and  impolitic.  Before  signing  the  bill,  I  examined 
it  with  all  the  care  the  time  allowed  would  permit.  I 
called  to  my  assistance  two  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the 
State,  and  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  its  provisions 


532  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

were  not  in  violation  of  the  Constitution.  It  was  not  a 
case  of  hasty  or  inconsiderate  legislation.  It  was  de 
liberately  considered  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 
Believing  the  bill  to  be  constitutional,  and  that  it  ex 
pressed  the  deliberate  judgment  and  will  of  the  Legisla 
ture,  it  was  my  duty  to  sign  it.  I  believe  the  veto-power 
is  conferred  to  arrest  unconstitutional  and  hasty  legisla 
tion  and  legislation  in  derogation  of  fundamental  and 
essential  rights,  such  as  the  equality  of  representation, 
and  not  to  enable  the  Governor  to  oppose  his  opinions  to 
those  of  the  people's  immediate  representatives  upon  ques 
tions  of  mere  policy  or  police  regulation.  That  law  has 
not  received  the  popular  support  necessary  to  make  it  ef 
ficient.  It  has  encountered  determined  hostility  on  the 
part  of  those  engaged  in  the  liquor  business ;  and  for 
many  months  extreme  temperance  people,  in  a  very  ex 
traordinary  manner,  have  shown  an  unwillingness  to 
abide  by  its  provisions. 

Propositions  will  be  brought  before  the  next  Legisla 
ture  for  the  material  modification  or  repeal  of  the  law. 
What  legislation  shall  take  its  place?  Our  Supreme 
Court  has  declared  absolute  prohibition  to  b.e  unconstitu 
tional,  and  experience,  I  believe,  has  shown  it  to  be  im 
practicable.  It  then  remains  only  to  regulate  the  traffic. 

Any  useful  law  must  rest  upon  the  proposition  that  there 
are  serious  evils  to  society  and  to  individuals  connected 
with  the  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors,  which  it  is  the 
province  of  the  law  to  restrain  and  prevent.  Sales  should 
not  be  made  to  boys;  and  if  necessary  to  prevent  it,  the 
boy  who  misrepresents  or  conceals  his  age  to  obtain  liquor 
should  be  punished  as  well  as  the  party  who  knowingly 
sells  to  him.  Drunkenness  should  be  punished,  as  well  as 
selling  to  the  intoxicated.  All  sales  should  be  forbidden 
when  the  public  peace  or  safety  requires  it,  and  like  other 
pursuits  it  should  be  suspended  in  the  night-time.  Per 
haps  the  hour  now  fixed  is  unnecessarily  and  inconve- 


THE    ISSUES    OF    SEVENTY-FOUR.  533 

niently  early,  but  society  should  be  protected  from  the 
disturbances  and  bloodshed  incident  to  the  traffic  in  the 
middle  of  the  night. 

I  think  it  might  properly  be  considered  whether  a  dif 
ference  in  regulation  could  not  safely  be  made  for  the 
sale  of  vinous  and  malt  liquors,  and  of  the  stronger  and 
more  intoxicating  drinks.  There  is  certainly  a  great  dif 
ference  in  the  evils  that  result  from  their  use. 

With  these  and  such  other  provisions  as  may  seem  rea 
sonable  and  necessary,  I  think  experience  justifies  the 
adoption  of  the  license  system.  The  amount  required  for 
the  license  in  each  case  should  be  greater  than  hereto 
fore.  It  should  be  sufficient  to  make  the  party  selling 
feel  that  his  interest  is  identical  with  that  of  society  in 
preserving  order  and  good  conduct  at  his  place  of  busi 
ness,  and  avoiding  all  violations  of  law.  This  policy 
will  bring  a  large  revenue  into  the  school  fund,  and  will 
prove  more  efficient  in  suppressing  the  evils  of  intemper 
ance  than  the  present  system.  I  can  not  appreciate  the 
objection  that,  by  receiving  a  license  fee,  society  uses 
money  received  from  an  improper  source.  Under  the 
present  law  the  State  grants  a  permit,  and  declares  the 
business  lawful.  Under  a  policy  which  we  have  long 
maintained,  every  violation  of  our  criminal  law  that  is 
punished  by  fines  adds  to  the  school  fund.  No  law  upon 
this  subject  can  be  useful  unless  supported  by  public  opin 
ion  in  its  favor.  The  wise  legislator  considers  the  weak 
ness  as  well  as  the  strength,  the  follies  as  well  as  the 
wisdom,  of  man,  and  adapts  the  laws  to  his  real  wants 
and  necessities. 

We  hear  no  more  of  the  foolish  cry  that  the  Demo 
cratic  party  is  dead.  Staunch,  strong  and  earnest,  it  has 
its  work  to  do,  tjie  pleasing  work  of  restoring  good  gov 
ernment,  wholesome  and  equal  laws,  and  universal  har 
mony  to  a  great  people.  It  is  cheered  forward  by  the 
increasing  respect  and  confidence  of  the  people,  as  shown 


534  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

in  the  elections  as  they  come  on.  When  the  day  of  com 
plete  triumph  shall  come,  and  the  burdens  and  responsi 
bilities  of  government  shall  rest  upon  its  broad  shoulders, 
Heaven  forbid  that  the  people  shall  be  disappointed  in 
their  just  expectations ! 


VIII.    LETTERS  OF  ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  NOMINATIONS  FOR 
THE  VICE  PRESIDENCY. 

ADDRESSED  TO  COMMITTEES   OF    THE   DEMOCRATIC    NATIONAL   CONVENTION, 

Indianapolis,  July  24,  1876. 

Gentlemen :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  your  communication,  in  which  you  have  for 
mally  notified  me  of  my  nomination  by  the  National  Dem 
ocratic  Convention  at  St.  Louis  as  their  candidate  for  the 
office  of  Vice  President  of  the  United  States.  It  is  a  nom 
ination  which  I  had  neither  expected  nor  desired  ;  and 
yet  I  recognize  and  appreciate  the  high  honor  done  me 
by  the  Convention.  The  choice  of  such  a  body,  pro 
nounced  with  such  unusual  unanimity,  and  accompanied 
with  so  generous  an  expression  of  esteem  and  confidence, 
ought  to  outweigh  all  merely  personal  desires  and  prefer 
ences  of  my  own.  It  is  with  this  feeling,  and  I  trust  also 
from  a  deep  sense  of  public  duty,  that  I  now  accept  the 
nomination,  and  shall  abide  the  judgment  of  my  country 
men. 

It  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  accept  the 
nomination  if  I  could  not  heartily  indorse  the  platform 
of  the  Convention.  I  am  gratified,  therefore,  to  be  able 
unequivocally  to  declare  that  I  agree  in  the  principles, 
approve  the  policies,  and  sympathize  with  the  purposes 
enunciated  in  that  platform. 

The  institutions  of  our  country  have  been  sorely  tried 


LETTERS  OF  ACCEPTANCE.  535 

by  the  exigencies  of  civil  war  and,  since  the  peace,  by  a 
.selfish  and  corrupt  management  of  public  affairs,  which 
has  shamed  us  before  civilized  mankind.  By  unwise  and 
partial  legislation,  every  industry  and  interest  of  the  peo 
ple  have  been  made  to  suffer ;  and  in  the  Executive  De 
partment  of  the  Government  dishonesty,  rapacity,  and 
venality  have  debauched  the  public  service.  Men  known 
to  be  unworthy  have  been  promoted,  while  others  have 
been  degraded  for  fidelity  to  official  duty.  Public  office 
has  been  made  the  means  of  private  profit,  and  the  coun 
try  has  been  offended  to  see  a  class  of  men  who  boast  the 
friendship  of  the  sworn  protectors  of  the  State  amassing 
fortunes  by  defrauding  the  public  Treasury,  and  by  cor 
rupting  the  servants  of  the  people.  In  such  a  crisis  of 
the  history  of  the  country  I  rejoice  that  the  Convention  at 
St.  Louis  has  so  nobly  raised  the  standard  of  reform. 
Nothing  can  be  well  with  us  or  with  our  affairs  until  the 
public  conscience,  shocked  by  the  enormous  evils  and 
abuses  which  prevail,  shall  have  demanded  and  com 
pelled  an  unsparing  reformation  of  our  national  Admin 
istration,  "  in  its  head  and  in  its  members."  In  such  a 
reformation  the  removal  of  a  single  officer,  even  the  Presi 
dent,  is  comparatively  a  trifling  matter,  if  the  system 
which  he  represents,  and  which  has  fostered  him  as  he 
has  fostered  it,  is  suffered  to  remain.  The  President 
alone  must  not  be  made  the  scape-goat  for  the  enormities 
of  the  system  which  infects  the  public  service  and  threat 
ens  the  destruction  of  our  institutions.  In  some  respects 
I  hold  that  the  present  Executive  has  been  the  victim 
rather  than  the  author  of  that  vicious  system.  Congres 
sional  and  party  leaders  have  been  stronger  than  the 
President.  No  one  man  could  have  created  it,  and  the 
removal  of  no  one  man  can  amend  it.  It  is  thoroughly 
corrupt,  and  must  be  swept  remorselessly  away  by  the 
.selection  of  a  government  composed  of  elements  entirely 
new  and  pledged  to  radical  reform. 


536  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

The  first  work  of  reform  must  evidently  be  the  restora 
tion  of  the  normal  operation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  with  all  its  Amendments.  The  necessities 
of  war  can  not  be  pleaded  in  a  time  of  peace  ;  the  right 
of  local  self-government  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  Union  must  be  everywhere  restored,  and  the 
centralized  (almost  personal)  imperialism  which  has  been 
practiced  must  be  done  away,  or  the  first  principles  of 
the  republic  will  be  lost. 

Our  financial  system  of  expedients  must  be  reformed. 
Gold  and  silver  are  the  real  standard  of  values,  and  our 
national  currency  will  not  be  a  perfect  medium  of  ex 
change  until  it  shall  be  convertible  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
holder  As  I  have  heretofore  said,  no  one  desires  a  return 
to  specie  payments  more  earnestly  than  I  do  ;  but  I  da 
not  believe  that  it  will  or  can  be  reached  in  harmony 
with  the  interests  of  the  people  by  artificial  measures  for  the 
contraction  of  the  currency,  any  more  than  I  believe  that 
wealth  or  permanent  prosperity  can  be  created  by  an  in 
flation  of  the  currency.  The  laws  of  finance  can  not  be 
disregarded  with  impunity.  The  financial  policy  of  the 
Government,  if  indeed  it  deserves  the  name  of  policy  at 
all,  has  been  in  disregard  of  those  laws,  and  therefore  has 
disturbed  commercial  and  business  confidence,  as  well  as 
hindered  a  return  to  specie  payments.  One  feature  of 
that  policy  was  the  Resumption  clause  of  the  act  of  1875^ 
which  has  embarrassed  the  country  by  the  anticipation  of 
a  compulsory  resumption,  for  which  no  preparation  was- 
made,  and  without  any  assurance  that  it  would  be  prac 
ticable.  The  repeal  of  that  clause  is  necessary,  that  the 
natural  operation  of  financial  laws  may  be  restored,  that 
the  business  of  the  country  may  be  relieved  from  its  dis 
turbing  and  depressing  influence,  and  that  a  return  to 
specie  payments  may  be  facilitated  by  the  substitution  of 
wiser  and  more  prudent  legislation,  which  shall  mainly 
rely  on  a  judicious  svstem  of  public  economies  and  official 


LETTERS    OH-    ACCEPTANCE.  537 

retrenchments,  and  above  all,  on  the  promotion  of  pros 
perity  in  all  the  industries  of  the  people. 

I  do  not  understand  the  repeal  of  the  Resumption  clause 
of  the  act  of  1875  to  ^e  a  backward  step  in  bur  return  to- 
specie  payments,  but  the  recovery  of  a  false  step ;  and 
although  the  repeal  may  for  a  time  be  prevented,  yet  the 
determination  of  the  Democratic  party  on  this  subject  has 
now  been  distinctly  declared.  There  should  be  no  hin- 
derances  put  in  the  way  of  a  return  to  specie  payments. 
"As  such  a  hinderance,"  says  the  platform  of  the  St. 
Louis  Convention,  "  we  denounce  the  Resumption  clause 
of  the  act  of  1875,  and  demand  its  repeal." 

I  thoroughly  believe  that  by  public  economy,  by  official 
retrenchments,  and  by  wise  finance,  enabling  us  to  ac 
cumulate  the  precious  metals,  resumption  at  an  early 
period  is  possible  without  producing  an  "  artificial  scarc 
ity  of  currency,"  or  disturbing  public  or  commercial 
credit ;  and  that  these  reforms,  together  with  the  restor 
ation  of  pure  government,  will  restore  general  confidence,, 
encourage  the  useful  investment  of  capital,  furnish  em 
ployment  to  labor,  and  relieve  the  country  from  the 
u  paralysis  of  hard  times." 

With  the  industries  of  the  people  there  have  been  fre- 
juent  interferences.  Our  platform  truly  says  that  many 
Industries  have  been  impoverished  to  subsidize  a  few. 
Our  commerce  has  been  degraded  to  an  inferior  position 
on  the  high  seas,  manufactures  have  been  diminished,, 
^rgriculture  has  been  embarrassed,  and  the  distress  of 
the  industrial  classes  demands  that  these  things  should 
be  reformed. 

The  burdens  of  the  people  must  also  be  lightened  by 
a  great  change  in  our  system  of  public  expenses.  The 
profligate  expenditure  which  increased  taxation  from  five 
dollars  per  capita  in  1860  to  eighteen  dollars  in  1870  tells 
its  own  story  of  our  need  of  fiscal  reform. 

Our  treaties  with  foreign  powers  should  also  be  revised 


538  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND  '  WRITINGS  . 

and  amended,  in  so  far  as  they  leave  citizens  of  foreign 
birth  in  any  particular  less  secure  in  any  country  on  earth 
than  they  would  be  if  they  had  been  born  upon  our  own 
soil ;  and  the  iniquitous  cooley  system  wrhich,  through 
the  agency  of  wealthy  companies,  imports  Chinese  bond 
men,  and  establishes  a  species  of  slavery,  and  interferes 
with  the  just  rewards  of  labor  on  our  Pacific  coast,  should 
be  utterly  abolished. 

In  the  reform  of  our  civil  service  I  most  heartily  en 
dorse  that  section  of  the  platform  which  declares  that  the 
civil  service  ought  not  to  be  subject  to  change  at  every 
election,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  made  the  brief  re 
ward  of  party  zeal,  but  ought  to  be  awarded  for  proved 
competency  and  held  for  fidelity  in  the  public  employ.  I 
hope  never  again  to  see  the  cruel  and  remorseless  pro 
scription  for  political  opinions  which  has  disgraced  the 
Administration  of  the  last  eight  years.  Bad  as  the  civil 
service  now  is,  as  all  know,  it  has  some  men  of  tried  in 
tegrity  and  proved  ability.  Such  men,  and  such  men  only, 
should  be  retained  in  office  ;  but  no  man  should  be  re 
tained  under  any  consideration  who  has  prostituted  his 
office  to  the  purposes  of  partisan  intimidation  or  compul- 
.sion,  or  who  has  furnished  money  to  corrupt  the  elec 
tions. 

This  is  done,  and  has  been  done,  in  almost  every  county 
of  the  land.  It  is  a  blight  upon  the  morals  of  the  coun 
try,  and  ought  to  be  reformed. 

Of  sectional  contentions  and  in  respect  to  our  common 
schools,  I  have  only  this  to  say  :  That,  in  my  judgment, 
the  man  or  party  that  would  involve  our  schools  in  polit 
ical  or  sectarian  controversy  is  an  enemy  to  the  schools. 
The  common  schools  are  safer  under  the  protecting  care 
of  all  the  people  than  under  the  control  of  any  party  or 
sect.  They  must  be  neither  sectarian  nor  partisan,  and 
there  must  be  neither  division  nor  misappropriation  of 
the  funds  for  their  support.  Likewise  I  regard  the  man 


LETTERS    OF    ACCEPTANCE.  539 

who  would  arouse  or  foster  sectional  animosities  and  an 
tagonisms  among  his  countrymen  as  a  dangerous  enemy 
to  his  country.  All  the  people  must  be  made  to  feel  and 
know  that  once  more  there  is  established  a  purpose  and 
policy  under  which  all  citizens  of  every  condition,  race 
and  color  will  be  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  whatever 
rights  the  Constitution  and  laws  declare  or  recognize  ; 
and  that  in  controversies  that  may  arise  the  Government 
is  not  a  partisan,  but  within  its  Constitutional  authority  the 
just  and  powerful  guardian  of  the  rights  and  safety  of 
all.  The  strife  between  the  sections  and  bet\veen  races 
will  cease  as  soon  as  the  power  for  evil  is  taken  away 
from  a  party  that  makes  political  gain  out  of  scenes  of 
violence  and  bloodshed,  and  the  Constitutional  authority 
is  placed  in  the  hands  of  men  whose  political  welfare  re 
quires  that  peace  and  good  order  shall  be  preserved  ev 
erywhere. 

It  will  be  seen,  gentlemen,  that  I  am  in  entire  accord 
\vith  the  platform  of  the  Convention  by  which  I  have  been 
nominated  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States.  Permit  me,  in  conclusion,  to  ex 
press  my  satisfaction  at  being  associated  with  a  can 
didate  for  the  Presidency  who  is  first  among  his 
equals  as  a  representative  of  the  spirit  and  of  the  achieve 
ments  of  reform.  In  his  official  career  as  the  Executive 
of  the  great  State  of  New  York,  he  has,  in  a  compara 
tively  short  period,  reformed  the  public  service  and  re 
duced  the  public  burdens,  so  as  to  have  earned  at  once  the 
gratitude  of  his  State  and  the  admiration  of  the  coun 
try.  The  people  know  him  to  be  thoroughly  in  earnest ; 
he  has  shown  himself  to  be  possessed  of  powers  and  qual 
ities  which  fit  him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  the  great 
work  of  reformation  which  this  country  now  needs  ;  and 
if  he  shall  be  chosen  by  the  people  to  the  high  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  I  believe  that  the  day  of 
his  inauguration  will  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  of 


540  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

peace,  purity  and  prosperity   in   all  departments  of  our 

Government. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS. 

To  the  Hon.  John  A.  McClernand,  Chairman,  and  others 
of  the  Committee  of  the  National  Democratic  Conven 
tion. 


Indianapolis,  August  20,  1884. 

Gentlemen  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  re 
ceipt  of  your  communication  notifying  me  of  my  nomina 
tion  by  the  Democratic  Convention  at  Chicago  as  candi 
date  for  the  office  of  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 
May  I  repeat  what  I  said  on  another  occasion,  that  it  is 
a  nomination  which  I  had  neither  expected  nor  desired, 
and  yet  I  recognize  and  appreciate  the  high  honor  done 
me  by  the  Convention.  The  choice  of  such  a  body,  pro- 
nonnced  with  such  unusual  unanimity,  and  accompanied 
with  so  generous  an  expression  of  esteem  and  confidence, 
ought  to  outweigh  all  merely  personal  desires  and  pref 
erences  of  my  own.  It  is  with  this  feeling,  and  I  trust 
also  from  a  deep  sense  of  public  duty,  that  I  now  accept 
the  nomination,  and  shall  abide  the  judgment  of  my 
countrymen.  I  have  examined  with  care  the  declaration 
of  principles  adopted  by  the  Convention — a  copy  of  which 
you  submitted  to  me — and  in  their  sum  and  substance  I 
heartily  indorse  and  approve  the  same. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

T.  A.  HENDRICKS. 
To  Hon.  William  F.  Vilas,  Chairman  ;  Nicholas  B.  Bell, 

Secretary,  and  others  of  the  Committee  of  the  National. 

Democratic  Convention. 


CHRISTIAN    FAITH.  541 

IX.     CHRISTIAN  FAITH. 

FROM   THE   ADDRESS   BEFORE   THE   YOUNG   MEN*S   CHURCH   GUILD. 

I  care  not  which  one  of  the  highways  you  pursue  to 
ward  knowledge,  you  will  come  to  a  place  in  the  course 
of  your  travel  where  you  will  stop — where  you  can  go  no 
further — as  upon  the  road  it  shall  be  a  mountain  or  an  im 
passable  gulf;  and  beyond  that,  what  is  the  distant  land 
then  becomes  a  question  exclusively  of  faith.  This  side 
of  that  boundary  line  it  is  not  allowed  us  to  adopt  faith ; 
but  I  take  it  that  the  Providence  which  intended  that 
human  intellect  should  always  be  stimulated  to  inquiry, 
intended  that  we  should  always  rely  upon  our  efforts  and  in 
vestigation  within  the  realm  of  proper  inquiry.  But  we 
reach  a  line  and  boundary  beyond  which  inquiry  can  not 
go,  sometimes  very  early  in  our  progress. 

I  know  scarcely  any  question  that  does  not  have  this 
limit  and  restriction.  Take  your  own  person,  and  you 
know  of  its  existence,  you  know  of  its  faculties  and  pow 
ers  ;  but  really  you  know  but  little  of  yourself.  Have  you 
any  idea  how  it  is  that  your  will  does  govern  your  body? 
You  know  the  fact  that  by  the  will  the  mind  itself  does 
work ;  but  how  it  is,  and  why  it  is,  you  know  not.  You 
know  that  some  faculty  is  connected  with  your  body  that 
•controls  its  action ;  but  just  what  that  faculty  is,  you 
know  as  much  as  Adam  and  Eve  when  they  stepped  out 
of  the  garden.  They  knew  just  as  much  as  you  do.  No 
philosopher  has  gone  farther.  How  it  is  that  spirit  dwells 
with  matter,  and  how  it  influences  the  action  of  matter, 
no  man  knows  or  ever  will  know.  So  I  might  go  on  to 
give  several  illustrations,  but  I  will  not  undertake  it.  For 
myself,  when  I  come  to  that  boundary  where  faith  be 
gins,  I  choose  for  my  faith  that  which  is  the  most  beauti 
ful,  the  most  charming,  and  that  which  will  promote 
man's  happiness  to  the  greatest  extent  and  add  to  the 
glory  and  honor  of  the  Great  Author  of  all  things. 


542  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

X.  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME 

TO   THE   NATIONAL   CONVENTION    OF   MILLERS. 

Indianapolis,  May  30,  1878. 

Gentlemen :  Without  any  reserve  whatever,  I  may 
say  that  for  your  society  and  convention,  and  for  your 
selves  individually,  as  members  thereof,  the  people  of 
Indianapolis  entertain  a  very  great  respect.  They  can 
not  all  come  here  and  take  each  of  you  by  the  hand  and 
wish  each  of  you  a  safe  and  happy  return  to  your  homes, 
as  they  would  wish  to  do,  but,  as  an  expression  of  their 
interest  and  regard,  they  extend  to  you  upon  this  occa 
sion  a  plain  and  substantial  hospitality,  and  direct  me  to 
bid  you  a  cordial  welcome. 

The  interest  which  you  have  excited  in  this  community 
is  not  only  because  you  have  honored  us  with  your  fifth 
annual  meeting  (that  honor  is  highly  appreciated),  but 
in  a  large  degree  it  is  because  you  are  engaged  in  and 
represent  a  business  of  great  importance  to  the  country, 
and  in  a  high  degree  of  importance  to  the  people  of  In 
dianapolis,  and  of  the  State  of  Indiana. 

Careful  attention  has  been  given  to  all  that  has  been 
proposed  and  said  in  your  convention,  and  when  you 
shall  have  gone  away  you  will  have  left  in  a  special  de 
gree  the  impression  of  your  views  and  policies.  Indian 
apolis  is  a  city  of  no  mean  pretensions  in  her  manufac 
turing  enterprise,  and  she  is  surrounded  upon  every  side 
with  uncommonly  rich  lands  that  are  now  rapidly  coming 
under  superior  cultivation.  And  so,  if  the  investigations 
and  deliberations  of  your  society  shall  result  in  obtaining 
from  every  bushel  of  grain  an  increased  amount  of  food 
for  man,  and  of  such  superior  quality  as  to  make  its  way 
into  all  the  markets  of  the  world,  you  are  entitled  from 
us  to  the  benediction  which  Dean  Swift  bestowed  upon 
the  good  citizen  who  "  could  make  two  ears  of  corn  or 


ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME.  543 

two  blades  of  grass  grow  upon  a  spot  of  ground  where 
only  one  grew  before."  You  have  come  here  from  many 
localities  and  from  many  different  sections,  and  were 
strangers  to  us  when  you  came,  but  we  do  not  feel  it  so 
now.  Indeed,  I  could  not  at  any  time  realize  that  you 
were  strangers.  As  a  boy  I  was  acquainted  with  the  mil 
ler,  and  I  thought  him  a  great  man.  When  he  raised 
the  gate  with  such  composure  and  confidence  and  the 
tumbling  waters  drove  the  machinery  ahead,  I  admired 
his  power.  And  then  he  talked  strongly,  too,  upon  all 
questions.  He  was  very  positive  upon  politics,  religion, 
law  and  mechanics.  Any  one  bold  enough  to  dispute  a 
point  was  very  likely  to  have  a  personal  argument  thrown 
into  his  face,  for  he  knew  all  the  gossip  among  his  cus 
tomers.  He  was  cheerful.  I  thought  it  was  because  he 
was  always  in  the  music  of  the  running  waters  and  the 
whirling  wheels.  He  was  kind  and  clever — indeed,  so 
much  so  that  he  would  promise  the  grists  before  they 
could  be  ready,  and  so  the  boys  had  to  go  two  or  three 
times.  He  was  a  Chancellor,  and  prescribed  the  law, 
every  one  in  his  turn. 

The  miller  standing  in  the  door  of  his  mill,  all  white 
with  the  dust,  is  a  picture  upon  the  memory  of  even  this 
generation.  It  is  a  picture  of  a  manly  figure.  I  wonder 
if  you  gentlemen,  the  lords  of  many  runs  and  bolts,  are 
ashamed  to  own  him  as  your  predecessor?  It  was  a 
small  mill,  sometimes  upon  a  "  willowy  brook,"  and 
sometimes  upon  the  larger  river,  but  it  stood  on  the 
advanced  line  of  the  settlements.  With  its  one  wheel 
to  grind  the  Indian  corn  and  one  for  wheat,  and  in  the 
fall  and  winter  season  one  day  in  the  week  set  apart  for 
grinding  buckwheat,  it  did  the  work  for  the  neighbor 
hood.  Plain  and  unpretentious  as  compared  with  your 
stately  structures,  I  would  not  say  that  it  contributed  less 
toward  the  development  of  the  country  and  the  perma 
nent  establishment  of  society.  So  great  a  favorite  was  it, 


544  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

and  so  important  to  the  public  welfare,  that  the  author 
ities  of  that  day  invoked  in  its  favor  the  highest  power  of 
the  State— that  of  eminent  domain.     That  mill  and   mil 
ler  had  to  go  before  you  and  yours  ;  and  I  am  happy 
to  revive  the  memory  of  the  miller   at   the  custom  mill", 
who,  with  equal  care,  adjusted  the  sack  upon  the  horse 
for  the  boy  to  ride  upon  and   his  logic  in   support  of  his 
theory  in  politics  or  his  dogma   in  religion.     It  was  al 
ways   an   interesting  story,  and   one   of  which  you   are 
proud,   that  in  a  period  when   the  rich   and  the  strong 
were  able  to  corrupt  the  juries  of  England,  Sir  Mathew 
Hale,  the  Chief  Justice,  threw  off  the  robes  of  his  office 
and  assumed  the  garb  of  a  miller,  and  found  his  way  into 
the  jury  box,  and  thereby  drove  out  corruption  and  res 
tored   honesty  and  virtue.     We   have   now   reached   the 
period  when  the  little  mill  and  the  simple  machinery  of  a 
former  day  are  insufficient ;  when  success  and  advance 
ment  require   capital,  improved  machinery  and   skilled 
labor.     All  the  interests  and  pursuits  of  society  welcome 
you.     You  give  good  food  to  all.     You  give  employment 
to  the  laborer  and  the  artisan  in  the  shop,  and  your  suc 
cess  is  heard  in 

"  The  reaper's  song  among  the  sheaves." 


XI.  ADDRESS 

AT   THE   LAYING   OF   THE   CORNER   STONE   OF  THE   NEW  STATE   HOUSE. 

Indianapolis,  September  28,  1880. 

Indiana  became  a  State  of  this  Union  in  1816.  Her 
population  was  then  about  sixty-five  thousand,  as  esti 
mated  upon  the  enumeration  of  the  year  before.  The 
State  tax,  as  assessed,  was  six  thousand  and  forty-three 
dollars.  The  greater  portion  of  her  territory  was  still 
occupied  by  the  Indians.  At  this  distant  day,  and  in  the 


•  LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.   545 

present  advanced  state  of  our  development,  we  can  not 
know  or  appreciate  what  lay  in  the  way  of,  and  impeded 
the  settlement  and  improvement  of  the  country.  The 
lands  were  covered  by  gigantic  and  dense  forests,  and  it 
was  the  work  of  more  than  one  generation  of  men  to  re 
move  them  and  prepare  a  portion,  only,  of  the  soil  for 
cultivation.  The  abundant  rainfall,  so  great  a  blessing 
now,  was  then  a  trouble  and  a  hinderance.  Over  this 
great  forest  plain,  both  flowage  and  evaporation  were 
obstructed,  almost  prevented,  and  the  water  filled  the 
soil  and  stood  upon  the  surface.  Drainage,  now  so  uni 
versal,  was  then  impossible. 

Obstruction  to  improvement  was  not  the  greatest  of 
evils  that  attended  that  natural  condition.  The  summer 
heats  loaded  the  atmosphere  with  malaria.  In  all  the 
settlements  distressing  and  malignant  fevers  prevailed. 
In  that  respect  the  years  1820,  1821  and  1822  are  mem 
orable.  The  chroniclers  of  the  times  mention  towns 
and  settlements  that  were  nearly  depopulated  ;  and  that 
"  Vevay,  JerFersonville,Vincennes,  and  many  other  towns 
lost  nearly  one-eighth  of  their  inhabitants  the  first  year, 
and  probably  one-fourth  in  the  three  years." 

Nothwithstanding  the  difficulties  and  hardships  of  the 
settlements,  the  three  or  four  years  following  the  years 
of  admission  of  the  State  were  years  of  prosperity.  Dur 
ing  that  period  the  population  of  the  State  more  than 
doubled.  Then  Commissioners  were  appointed  to  select 
the  lands  granted  by  Congress  as  a  site  for  the  perma 
nent  seat  of  government  of  the  State,  and  this  spot  where 
Indianapolis  now  stands  was  chosen.  It  was  then  far 
out  in  the  wilderness,  but  central,  and  has  proven  to  be 
a  good  location,  convenient  and  satisfactory  to  the  peo 
ple. 

In  1824  the  seat  of  government  was  removed  from 
Corydon  to  Indianapolis.  It  is  said  that  it  required  ten 
35 


546  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

days  to  make  the  journey  in  wagons,  carrying  the  records- 
and  files  of  State,  although  the  distance  was  but  125  or 
130  miles.  The  journey  could  now  be  made  in  less  than 
that  many  hours.  The  old  Court  House  of  Marion  county 
was  adopted  and  used  as  a  Capitol,  and  for  ten  years  the 
laws  of  the  State  were  there  enacted.  The  laws  of  that 
period  were  carefully  and  well  prepared  ;  written  in  plain, 
strong  language  ;  and  the  legislative  intention  was  so 
clearly  expressed  that  the  officers,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
execute  them,  and  the  people,  whose  duty  it  was  to  obey 
them,  were  neither  confused  or  confounded.  It  is  not  al 
ways  so  now.  Among  the  most  important  laws  adopted 
in  the  old  Court  House,  was  the  act  of  January  28,  1834, 
to  establish  a  State  Bank.  It  was  a  wise  measure  for  the 
times.  It  provided  good  money  for  the  people,  and  the 
foundation  of  our  magnificent  school  fund. 

One  of  the  writers  of  that  period  says  that  from  1826 
there  was  an  improvement  in  prices  which  induced  in 
creased  immigration,  industry  and  enterprise.  In  1830, 
the  population  had  increased  to  343,081.  It  was  then  de 
termined  to  build  a  State  House.  The  first  legislative 
action  was  taken  on  the  loth  day  of  February,  1831. 
Mr.  James  Blake,  of  Marion  county,  was  appointed  a 
Commissioner  to  superintend  the  commencement  of  the 
work.  He  was  authorized  to  offer  a  premium  of  $150  for 
the  best  plan  of  the  building.  The  entire  cost  was  not 
to  exceed  $48,000,  and  was  to  be  paid  out  of  the  pro 
ceeds  derived  from  the  sales  of  the  lands  donated  to  the 
State  for  its  permanent  seat  of  government.  At  the  next 
session  of  the  Legislature  the  plan  was  adopted  which 
had  been  submitted  by  Messrs.  Ithiel  Town  and  S.  J. 
Davis,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Noah  Noble,  Samuel 
Merrill  and  Morris  Morris, were  made  the  permanent  Com 
missioners  to  superintend  the  work,  and  were  clothed  with 
ample  powers. 

The  limitation  of  the  cost  to  $48,000  was  extended   to 


LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.    547 

$60,000.  The  work  was  faithfully  prosecuted  by  the 
Commissioners,  and  was  completed  in  1835,  nearly  three 
years  before  the  period  fixed  by  law.  It  was  first  occu 
pied  by  the  Legislature  at  the  session  of  1835-6. 

That  old  State  House,  now  removed  to  make  place  for 
the  new  one,  was  a  beautiful  structure.  In  every  part 
and  proportion  except  the  dome,  its  architecture  was  of 
pure  Grecian  Doric.  When  completed,  it  was  regarded 
as  very  creditable  to  the  new  State.  In  size  and  arrange 
ment  it  was  at  that  time  ample  and  convenient  for  the 
public  service.  For  forty-two  years  it  remained,  and 
within  its  halls  the  representatives  of  the  State  developed 
policies  and  enacted  laws  to  secure  individual  right  and  to 
promote  the  public  welfare.  If  this  occasion  did  permit, 
I  wrould  rejoice  to  make  appropriate  mention  of  many  able 
men  and  statesmen,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  their  fu 
ture  fame  in  the  service  which  they  rendered  the  people 
in  the  old  State  House.  I  have  been  told  that  some  of 
the  debates  were  of  the  highest  order,  and  worthy  of  any 
body  of  men. 

Mistake  and  misfortune  sat  with  the  Legislature  at  its 
first  session  in  its  new  halls.  Second  among  its  printed 
laws  is  the  "Act  to  provide  a  general  system  of  internal 
improvements."  The  measure  was  unfortunate.  It  was 
the  child  of  exalted  hope.  An  over  estimate  of  future 
production  misled  the  wisest. 

"  Vaulting  ambition,  which  too  oft  o'erleaps  itself,"  cap 
tured  and  controlled  both  statesmen  and  people.  The 
industry  and  enterprise  of  the  State  could  not  carry  the 
burden.  At  the  end  of  ten  years  that  came  to  be  under 
stood  both  by  the  debtor  State  and  by  its  creditors. 

Communities  and  States  may  become  so  involved  that 
their  resources  are  inadequate  to  discharge  their  obliga 
tions,  and  that  without  dishonor.  But  it  is  then  left  to 
them  to  settle  with  their  creditors  upon  terms  just  and 
fair.  The  possibility  of  their  resources  must  be  consid- 


548  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ered,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  indebtedness ;  and  it 
can  not  be  considered  at  all  that  there  is  no  power  to  co 
erce  a  State.  At  the  crisis  in  her  affairs  it  was  the  good 
fortune  of  Indiana  that  her  Governor  was  a  man  of  rare 
endowments  and  of  the  highest  learning.  He  was  a 
statesman.  He  led  the  people  and  the  Legislature,  and 
was  met  by  the  public  creditors  in  the  spirit  of  liberality. 
The  result  was  the  compromise  and  adjustment  of 
1846-7.  Indiana's  debt  was  settled,  and  her  honor  was 
preserved.  The  debt  is  now  all  paid  ;  and  that  was  the 
best  work  done  in  the  old  State  House. 

The  importance  of  that  adjustment  to  the  State  is 
seen  in  the  prodigious  increase  of  wealth  after  its  adop 
tion.  From  the  time  of  the  State's  admission  up  to  1848 
was  thirty-two  years.  At  the  close  of  that  period  the 
taxable  property  of  the  State  was  only  $127,051,165. 
From  1848  to  1880  is  thirty-two  years.  The  increase  of 
wealth  during  that  period  has  been  $756,000,000,  nearly 
equal  to  six  times  the  accumulation  prior  to  the  adjust 
ment. 

At  length  the  time  came  when  the  old  house  was  not 
large  enough  nor  good  enough  for  the  State.  The  Gov 
ernor  said  to  the  Legislature  :  "This  house  is  neither 
suitable  nor  safe  for  the  transaction  of  the  public  busi 
ness.  It  does  not  correspond  with  the  greatness  of  the 
State."  It  was  on  the  I4th  day  of  March,  1877  tnat  tne 
new  State  House  was  authorized,  and  provided  for  by  the 
Legislature.  The  old  house  is  gone.  It  exists  now  only 
in  painting  and  photograph.  The  new  foundations  have 
been  laid  broad  and  deep  and  solid.  The  work  is  under 
the  supervision  and  control  of  a  Board  of  Commissioners, 
of  which  the  Governor  of  the  State  is  a  member.  It  is 
an  interesting  fact  that  General  Morris,  one  of  the  pres 
ent  Board,  is  the  son  of  Morris  Morris,  who  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  old  Board  of  1832.  The  cost  of  this  house  is 
not  to  exceed  two  million  dollars  ;  and  in  its  construction 


LAYING  CORNER  STOXE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.    549 

Indiana  labor  and  material  shall  have  the  preference,  so 
far  as  practicable,  "  with  due  regard  to  the  material  in 
terests  of  the  State."  It  shall  also  be  "in  keeping  with 
the  dignity  of  the  State."  These  are  material  provisions 
of  the  law. 

What  house  shall  be  in  keeping  with  the  dignity  of  the 
State?  How  grand?  How  beautiful?  How  durable?  By 
what  standard  and  upon  what  comparison  can  I  speak  of 
the  dignity  of  the  State?  It's  area  is  more  than  thirty- 
three  thousand  square  miles ;  more  than  twenty-one 
million  acres.  The  lands  are  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  and 
their  yield,  under  our  improved  cultivation,  is  certain  and 
abundant.  Railroads  traverse  the  State  in  all  directions, 
and  are  nearly  five  thousand  miles  in  aggregate  length. 
A  horseman  would  be  four  days  in  traversing  the  great 
coal  fields  of  southwestern  Indiana,  riding  from  the  north 
toward  the  south.  In  the  year  of  its  admission  the  tax 
able  wealth  of  the  State  yielded  a  revenue  of  but  six 
thousand  and  forty-three  dollars  ;  now  the  taxable  pro 
perty  of  the  State  is  eight  hundred  and  eighty-four  mil 
lion  dollars.  Need  I  mention  the  growing  cities,  and 
thriving  towns  and  villages  ;  the  increasing  trade  and 
commerce,  and  our  manufactures  increasing  every  year? 
All  these  contribute  to  the  greatness  of  States,  to  its  dig 
nity  and  power,  but  they  are  not  the  State. 

The  dark  forests  have  disappeared  ;  the  wet  lands  have 
been  drained.  Malarial  diseases  no  longer  prevail ;  and 
two  million  of  prosperous  and  happy  people  occupy  the 
rich  lands  of  Indiana.  But  population  alone  can  not 
confer  rank  and  dignity  upon  the  State.  Who  cares  to  re 
member  Persia,  with  her  many  provinces,  her  myriads  of 
people  and  her  vast  wealth.  But  in  all  the  course  of  time 
the  little  State  of  Attica  can  not  be  forgotten.  Greek 
thought  and  culture  and  devotion  to  liberty  are  immor 
tal. 

Roman  law  and  learning,  and  taste  and  courage  have 


550  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

enriched  the  blood  of  all  civilized  nations.  Ancient  Gaul 
is  known  to  us  because  Cagsar  conquered  it  and  wrote  the 
story  of  his  conquest.  The  men  of  Indiana  not  only  love 
liberty,  but  they  have  a  thorough  appreciation  of  the  ad 
vantages  of  a  good  government,  and  an  intelligent  un 
derstanding  of  what  is  necessary  on  their  part  to  preserve 
and  maintain  it.  They  recognize  the  fact  that  wherever 
a  State  is  controlled  directly  or  indirectly  by  the  people, 
public  virtue  and  popular  intelligence  are  indispensable. 
They  know  that  free  institutions  can  not  be  made  to  rest 
securely  upon  ignorance  and  vice. 

In  the  Constitution  of  1816  they  declared  that  knowl 
edge  and  learning  generally  diffused  through  a  commu 
nity  are  essential  to  the  preservation  of  free  government ; 
and  they  imposed  it  as  a  duty  upon  the  General  Assem 
bly  "to  provide  by  law  for  a  general  system  of  educa 
tion."  In  the  Constitution  of  1851  it  was  provided  that  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  to  encour 
age  by  all  suitable  means,  moral,  intellectual,  scientific 
and  agricultural  improvements,  and  to  provide  by  law  for 
a  general  and  uniform  system  of  common  schools,  wherein 
tuition  shall  be  without  charge  and  equal  to  all. 

These  constitutional  obligations  have  been  executed 
with  the  utmost  fidelity.  The  children  of  the  State  now 
enrolled  in  the  schools  number  503,892.  The  permanent 
school  fund,  which  can  not  be  impaired  and  is  constantly 
increasing,  is  more  than  nine  million  dollars.  The  an 
nual  revenue  derived  from  interest  on  the  permanent  fund 
and  from  taxation,  used  in  support  of  the  schools,  amounts 
to  about  $2,861 ,837.48.  More  than  twelve  thousand  teach 
ers  are  employed.  Every  child  in  the  State  has  the  op 
portunity  of  education.  It  is  not  enough  that  there  be  an 
intellectual  appreciation  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  the 
rights  and  duties  of  the  citizens.  There  must  be  a  hearty 
recognition  of  the  obligation  which  society  owes  to  the 
unfortunate  classes.  We  are  assured  the  poor  will  al- 


LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.        551 

ways  be  with  us,  so  will  the  blind,  the  insane,  the  deaf 
mute  and  the  criminal.  These  belong  to  society  as  chil 
dren  to  the  home,  and  must  be  provided  for.  Who  dares 
offend  the  great  heart  by  speaking  of  the  blind  boy  as 
merely  an  object  of  charity?  He  is  an  object  of  parental 
love.  However  plain  she  may  be,  he  thinks  his  mother 
beautiful,  as  his  sensitive  fingers  pass  through  her  hair 
and  over  her  face.  Her  voice  is  always  gentle  to  him, 
and  his  very  infirmity  makes  him  the  dearer  to  her.  The 
duty  of  society  toward  these  was  expressed  by  the  rough, 
strong  men  of  the  new  settlements  in  the  Constitution  of 
1816,  with  a  sensitive  delicacy  as  charming  as  the  sweet 
est  expressions  of  poetry  and  art.  They  imposed  upon 
the  Legislature  the  duty  as  soon  as  circumstances  would 
permit,  "  to  provide  one  or  more  farms  to  be  an  asylum 
for  those  persons,  who,  by  reason  of  age,  infirmity,  or 
other  misfortunes,  may  have  a  claim  upon  the  aid  and 
beneficence  of  society,  on  such  principles  that  such  per 
sons  may  therein  find  employment  and  every  reasonable 
comfort,  and  lose  by  their  usefulness  the  degrading  sense 
of  dependence."  The  constitutional  requirement  has 
been  respected  and  obeyed,  how  faithfully  is  attested  by 
the  massive  and  beautiful  structures  in  the  neighborhood 
of  this  city,  where  homes  are  provided  for  the  blind,  the 
insane  and  the  deaf  mutes.  The  support  of  these  insti 
tutions  on  the  part  of  the  people  has  been  so  earnest  and 
determined  that  no  demagogue  has  dared  to  question  any 
necessary  or  useful  provision  for  them.  It  was  in  acts  of 
beneficence,  in  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  speech  to  the 
dumb,  and  strength  to  the  lame  that  the  Savior  of  man 
kind  appeared  most  beautiful  and  lovely  to  men.  So  it 
is  by  the  gracious  exercise  of  the  powers  of  protection 
and  beneficence  that  government  enacts  and  holds  its 
citizens  in  bonds  of  love,  rather  than  in  the  exercise  of 
higher  powers  and  in  the  discharge  of  harder  and  sterner 
-duties. 


552  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

It  was  by  the  same  men  provided,  and  in  the  same  Con 
stitution,  that  the  penal  code  of  the  State  should  be 
•'  founded  on  the  principles  of  reformation  and  not  of 
vindictive  justice."  Since  then,  no  blow  has  been  struck 
by  the  State  in  the  spirit  of  revenge.  No  officer  dares 
strike  a  convict  in  anger.  It  can  not  be  done  with  im 
punity.  And  great  discretion  has  been  allowed  to  the 
jury  in  fixing  the  punishment ;  even  in  the  highest  crime 
save  one,  they  may  elect  to  spare  the  life.  And  above 
all,  there  is  lodged  in  the  hand  of  the  Chief  Executive 
the  beneficent  power  to  pardon. 

I  have  sought  to  describe  the  character  and  qualities 
of  the  people  of  Indiana  by  what  they  themselves  adopted 
as  important  in  government.  What  the  people  are  and 
have  been  is  seen  in  the  institutions  which  they  have  es 
tablished  and  maintained.  They  placed  the  State  gov 
ernment  upon  the  foundation  of  popular  intelligence,  of 
public  virtue,  and  of  State  beneficence.  It  may  not  be 
said  that  they  are  better  and  wiser  now  than  they  were 
then ;  but  this  must  be  said,  they  have  preserved  and 
maintained  with  absolute  fidelity  the  essential  principles 
and  usages  of  good  government. 

Such  are  the  people  of  Indiana,  numerous  now  and 
strong,  earnest,  and  it  may  be  aggressive,  but  always  obe 
dient  to  law.  No  people  on  earth,  as  I  believe,  are  bet 
ter  qualified  to  maintain  good  government,  and  to  exer 
cise  the  rights  and  prerogatives  that,  under  the  Constitu 
tion,  belong  to  a  State  of  the  Union.  For  them  this 
house  is  being  built.  To  them  it  is  no  less  than  the  tem 
ple  was  to  the  ancient  Israelites.  Within  its  walls  pro 
vision  will  be  made  for  the  entire  public  service  of  the 
State.  Here  the  laws  will  be  enacted,  administered  and 
executed.  Men  and  generations  of  men  will  pass  away, 
but  that  work  will  continue.  In  its  size  and  proportions 
the  building  will  be  magnificent.  Both  ancient  and  mod 
ern  architecture  contribute  to  the  completeness  of  the 


LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.    553 

work.  The  report  of  the  Commissioners  gives  this  de 
scription  of  the  dimensions:  The  dimensions  are,  south 
and  north  fronts,  185  feet ;  east  and  west  fronts,  495  feet ; 
center,  east  to  west,  282  feet  by  118  feet  in  width  ;  height 
of  dome,  234  feet;  diameter,  72  feet;  height  of  east  and 
west  fronts,  100  feet ;  south  and  north  fronts,  92  feet : 
basement  story,  12  feet ;  first  story,  18  feet  and  6  inches  ; 
second  story,  19  feet;  Representatives'  Hall,  48  feet; 
Senate  Chamber,  48  feet ;  Supreme  Court  room,  40  feet; 
third  story,  16  feet  6  inches.  The  public  edifices  o/  a 
people  tell  the  general  character  of  its  civilization  as  well 
as  history  tells  it,  and  often  they  perpetuate  it  long  after 
history  has  lost  it.  In  Italy,  in  Greece,  in  Egypt  stand 
architectural  monuments  that  are  almost  the  sole  memen 
toes  of  pre-historic  civilization — structures  that  commem 
orate  man's  labor  in  ages  in  the  distant  past,  from  which 
the  light  of  history  has  faded  away : 

"  Whose  lonely  columns  stand  sublime, 

Flinging  their  shadows  from  on  high, 
Like  dials  which  the  wizard,  Time, 
Has  raised  to  count  his  ages  by." 

The  writings  of  Moses  tell  of  the  power,  the  pride  and 
grandeur  of  the  Pharaohs  while  Israel  dwelt  in  Egypt,  and 
when  Moses  led  their  exodus  thence.  But  the  great  Pyr 
amids  tell  of  Egyptian  Kings  of  still  greater  pomp,  pride 
and  grandeur,  who  flourished  near  a  thousand  years  be 
fore  the  time  of  Moses,  but  whose  name  history  scarce  pre 
serves,  and  whose  achievements  it  does  not  perpetuate. 
They  tell  of  absolute  power  that  could  command  the  toil 
of  millions.  They  tell  of  kingly  pride  and  vanity  that 
sought  monumental  tombs  as  enduring  as  the  earth  itself. 
They  tell  of  teeming  populations  inhabiting  the  valley  of 
the  Nile.  They  tell  somewhat  of  the  state  of  architecture, 
artronomy  and  learning  of  pre-historic  Egypt. 

The  names  of  the  kings  that  reared  them  and  that  were 


554  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WK1TIXGS. 

probably  entombed  within  them,  have  perished  or  are  but 
things  of  speculation  in  apocryphal  history.  Strange  com 
mentary  on  the  vanity  of  human  ambition  !  The  monu 
ments  that  royal  pride  raised  to  perpetuate  its  fame  still  en 
dure,  while  the  things  they  were  intended  to  commemor 
ate  are  forgotten. 

The  Egypt  that  built  these  structures  has  been  swept 
away.  In  the  gaze  of  these  mute  sentinels  of  the  centuries 
the  Persian,  the  Macedonian,  the  Roman,  the  Saracen,  the 
Turk  and  the  Frank  have  successively  overrun  and  ruled 
the  land. 

Still,  through  all  changes,  they  tell  to  the  modern  world 
across  the  forty  intervening  centuries,  a  story  of  the  an 
cient  Egypt  that  built  them,  that  would  otherwise  be  un 
known. 

These  pyramids  and  the  sphynx  that,  standing  under 
their  shadow,  has  for  near  four  thousand  years  gazed 
solemnly  down  where  the  Nile  "goes  on  forever,"  and 
the  grand  temples  of  Thebes  and  other  cities  of  ancient 
Egypt, whose  majestic  ruins  excite  the  wonder  and  the  ad 
miration  of  the  modern  world,  were  the  products  of  abso 
lutism  and  paganism.  They  might  endure  for  centuries, 
but  the  social  and  political  condition  that  produced  them 
was  inevitably  destined,  sooner  or  later,  to  undergo 
change  or  dissolution. 

A  political  fabric  composed  of  false  theories  of  gov 
ernment  interwoven  with  the  superstition  of  false  religion, 
could  not  last.  The  building  whose  corner-stone  we  lay 
to-day  will  be  no  kingly  palace  where  an  arbitrary  ruler 
shall  wield  powers  not  voluntarily  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  governed.  It  will  be  no  temple  dedicated  to  some 
false  worship.  It  will  be  an  edifice  where  the  sovereignty 
of  a  free  and  enlightened  people — a  sovereignty  invisible, 
indeed,  but  nevertheless  as  real  and  as  potent  as  any  that 
Europe  or  Asia  has  ever  known,  shall  have  its  seat — a 
house  from  which  shall  go  forth  those  influences  that  pre- 


LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.    555 

serve  social  order  and  foster  public  prosperity — a  temple 
where 

"Sovereign  law,  the  State's  collected  will, 
Sits  empress,  crowning  good,  repressing  ill," — 

a  political  temple,  sacred  to  the  exercise  of  a  popular 
self-government — a  form  of  government  that  when  once 
well  established  can  never  be  overthrown,  and  that  is 
destined  in  some  future  age,  in  God's  good  time,  to  su 
persede  every  form  of  government  that  ambition  has  im 
posed  upon  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 

Already  the  genius  of  republicanism  has  banished  the 
Bourbons  and  the  Napoleons  from  France.  Even  now  it 
is  menacing  the  legislative  power  and  the  hereditary  po 
litical  privileges  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  England.  In 
Prussia  its  throbbings  are  felt  underneath  the  imperial 
power  by  which  it  is  restrained.  In  Russia,  as  yet  not 
prepared  to  receive  it,  its  spirit  is  felt,  and  the  time  will 
yet  come  when  it  will  push  aside  the  assassin  that  is 
scheming  imperial  murder  in  its  name,  and  commit  its 
cause  in  that  land  to  the  hand  of  the  enlightened  patriot. 

The  structure,  the  corner-stone  of  which  is  laid  to-day, 
will  be  composed  of  the  most  enduring  material  that 
science  can  cull  from  the  stores  of  nature.  The  soil,  the 
quarry,  the  mine  and  the  forest  have  been  carefully  and 
intelligently  examined,  and  they  are  yielding  for  the  use 
of  this  new  State  House,  brick  and  stone  and  iron  and 
timber  that  severe  scientific  tests  demonstrate  to  be  the 
best  and  most  enduring  that  can  be  produced. 

In  placing  them  in  the  building,  all  that  architectural 
science  and  taste  can  do,  all  that  intelligent  and  experi 
enced  mechanism  can  do  to  obtain  enduring  strength  and 
exceeding  beauty,  will  be  done. 

Who  shall  count  the  ages  during  which  this  new  State 
House  of  Indiana  shall  stand?  When  the  temple  of  Kar- 
nac  was  finished,  what  Theban  prophet  could  have 
^counted  the  centuries  during  which  it  would  endure? 


556  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

The  mighty  ruins  of  temples  in  the  old  world  teach  us 
that  ages  in  long  procession  will  come  and  go  before  time 
will  lay  its  destroying  hand  heavily  upon  the  edifice  we 
are  now  rearing. 

Meanwhile,  what  shall  be  the  history  of  the  people  by 
and  for  whom  this  house  is  being  built?  Shall  this  struc 
ture,  like  the  public  edifices  of  the  old  world,  outlive  the 
institutions  that  produced  it,  and  stand  a  witness  of  social 
convulsions  and  revolutions  in  government?  Or  shall  it 
witness  that  stability  of  social  order  and  political  institu 
tions  that  come  of  popular  education,  the  love  of  justice, 
and  constitutions  founded  upon  the  true  principle  of  gov 
ernment?  Shall  it  stand  sentinel  to  distant  ages  over  a 
people  engaged  in  all  the  useful  and  pleasing  activities 
of  life  but  still  governed  by  immutable  laws  of  order,  as 
the  great  Colossus  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  har 
bor  of  Rhodes,  watching  the  ceaseless  flow  and  ebb  of 
the  unchanging  Mediterranean  Sea?  We  can  judge  of  the 
future  by  the  causes  only  that  have  operated  in  the  past 
and  that  are  operating  now.  While  the  religion  of  a  peo 
ple  should  be,  and  in  this  country  is,  kept  separate  and 
distinct  from  its  civil  government,  still  the  religion  of 
a  people  insensibly  molds  the  national  institutions.  It 
tempers  their  character,  and  to  this  temper  their  laws 
must  conform.  It  is  the  atmosphere  that  surrounds  and 
pervades  the  very  structure  of  government.  In  conjec 
turing  as  to  the  future  of  a  people,  its  religion  should  be 
regarded.  The  social  and  political  institutions  that  have 
taken  their  form  and  spirit  under  the  influences  of  the 
prevailing  religion  will  be  beneficent  in  their  influence, 
and  of  longer  probable  duration,  in  proportion  as  it  is  true 
and  enduring.  Christianity  has  breathed  its  spirit  upon 
the  institutions  that  surround  us.  Some  of  its  solemnities 
have  attended  the  laying  of  this  corner-stone.  If  the 
frightful  thought  could  enter  our  minds  that  Christianity 
is  all  a  delusion  that  must  fade  away  before  the  advan- 


LAYING  CORNER  STONE  OF  NEW  STATE  HOUSE.    OO  ( 

cing  light  of  science,  still  a  comforting  assurance  would 
remain  that  its  gentle  and  humanizing  and  elevating  in 
fluences  have  already  so  potently  acted  upon  the  minds 
of  men  that  no  pernicious  or  degrading  superstition  could 
ever  take  its  place  in  any  land  that  it  has  enlightened. 
If  it  were  possible  that  skepticism,  born  of  science,  could 
destroy  our  belief  in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  overthrow 
all  that  part  of  our  religion  which  teaches  our  duties  to 
Heaven,  it  can  not  be  conceived  as  possible  that  any  form 
of  faith  could  be  substituted  that  would  better  teach  man 
his  duties  in  his  relation  to  earth,  or  that  would  be  in 
compatible  with  our  political  institutions. 

The  bright  hope  that  we  cherish,  that  our  national  life 
time  may  be  a  long  and  prosperous  one,  is  founded  chiefly, 
of  course,  upon  the  nature  of  our  institutions  and  the 
character  of  our  people. 

Few  great  thinkers  of  modern  times  have  doubted  that 
the  theory  of  popular  self-government  is  the  true  one  for 
an  enlightened  and  virtuous  people.  But  its  practicabil 
ity  depends  upon  popular  enlightenment.  In  this  coun 
try  republican  government  is  no  longer  an  experiment. 
It  has  successfully  stood  the  tests  of  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  and  of  a  great  civil  war.  Obviously,  that  form  of 
government  must  be  the  most  stable  that  in  the  largest 
degree  combines  and  employs  the  physical  force  and  the 
intelligence  of  the  people.  The  occupant  of  a  heredi 
tary  throne  holds  his  seat  subject  to  the  pleasure  and  the 
caprice  of  the  physical  force.  Habit,  national  traditions, 
ignorance  or  servility  may  hold  the  people  in  subserviency 
to  royal  or  autocratic  authority.  But  when  the  passions 
of  the  masses  are  once  stirred  to  revolution,  their  power 
is  irresistible.  Thrones  fly  before  them  like  chaff  before 
the  whirlwind. 

"A  thousand  years  scarce  serve  to  form  a  State  ; 
An  hour  may  lay  it  in  the  dust." 


558  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

On  the  other  hand,  their  mere  physical  power,  while  it 
is  competent  to  destroy,  is  incompetent  to  rebuild  and 
maintain  government.  Unless  the  best  intelligence  of  a 
nation  is  called  into  requisition,  they  build  in  vain  that 
would  build  up  a  permanent  structure  of  government. 

In  the  form  of  government  that  we  enjoy,  these  two  el 
ements  of  political  power  are  found  more  closely  and  in- 
dissolubly  united  than  in  any  other.  Here  this  physical 
power  is  itself  educated  and  intelligent ;  and  the  higher  the 
standard  of  education  is  raised,  the  more  closely  still  the 
physical  and  moral  elements  of  governmental  power  be 
come  allied. 

There  are  very  few  political  communities  in  the  world, 
including  even  our  own  sister  States  of  this  Union,  where 
the  standard  of  popular  education  is  as  high  as  it  is  in  In 
diana  to-day.  With  the  educational  system  that  we  have 
established,  and  that  we  are  so  jealously  guarding — a 
system  that  we  justly  regard  as  the  crowning  glory  of  our 
State — we  have  good  right  to  indulge  the  proud  hope 
that  before  another  generation  shall  have  come  and  gone 
popular  education  in  the  State  of  Indiana  will  be  higher 
advanced  than  in  any  other  nation  or  State  on  the  face 
of  the  whole  earth. 

When  we  regard  the  character  of  our  institutions,  and 
the  character  of  our  people — their  virtue  and  intelligence 
and  their  established  educational  system,  and  when  we 
consider  the  agricultural,  the  mineral  and  the  manufac 
turing  capabilities  of  our  State,  we  are  justified  in  antici 
pating  for  it  a  long  and  splendid  future. 

But  it  is  not  upon  the  soil,  the  mine,  or  the  factory  that 
we  may  chiefly  rely  for  the  realization  of  the  grand  pos 
sibilities  that  lie  before  us  as  a  State. 

It  is  upon  the  virtues,  the  intelligence  and  the  patriot 
ism  of  our  people  that  we  must  depend,  if  we  would  at 
tain  our  highest  possible  greatness  and  lay  strong  and 
deep  the  foundations  of  a  State  government  that  will  en- 


SHALL   TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  559 

dure  as  long  as  its  structures  of  marble  and  granite  shall 
stand. 

"  What  constitutes  a  State? 
Not  high  raised  battlement  or  labored  mound, 

Thick  wall  or  moated  gate  ; 
Not  cities  proud,  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned  ; 

Not  bays  and  broad  armed  ports 
Where,  laughing  at  the  storm,  rich  navies  ride ; 

Not  starred  and  spangled  courts 
Where  low-browed  baseness  wafts  perfume  to  pride. 

No  ! — men,  high  minded  men, 
With  powers  as  far  above  dull  brutes  endued 

In  forest,  brake  or  den, 
As  beasts  excel  cold  rocks  and  brambles  rude, — 

Men  who  their  duties  know, 
But  know  their  rights,  and,  knowing  dare  maintain, 

Prevent  the  long  aimed  blow, 
And  crush  the  tyrant  while  they  rend  the  chain ; 

These  constitute  a  State; 
And  sovereign  law,  the  State's  collected  will, 

O'er  thrones  and  globes  elate 
Sits  empress,  crowning  good,  repressing  ill." 


XII.    SHALL  TWO  STATES  KULE  THE  UNION? 

ARTICLE  CONTRIBUTED  TO  THE  NORTH   AMERICAN   REVIEW, 
Volume  133,  October  Number,  1881. 

"  If  we  intend  to  remain  honest  and  to  pay  the  public 
debt,  as  good  people  of  all  parties  do,  and  if  we  mean  to 
administer  the  functions  of  government,  then  we  must  raise 
revenue  in  some  way  or  other.  With  a  reunited  and  har 
monious  country,  we  shall  certainly  in  time  pay  off  the 
public  debt ;  but  the  necessity  of  raising  money  for  the 
administration  of  the  Government  will  continue  as  long 
as  human  nature  lasts.  All  parties  agree  that  the  best 
way  for  us  to  raise  revenue  is  largely  by  the  tariff.  So  far 
as  we  are  concerned,  therefore,  all  talk  about  '  free  trade  ' 
is  folly." — General  Hancock. 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

For  many  years  there  will  remain  among  the  statutes  a 
law  for  the  collection  of  import  duties.  It  will  certainly 
continue  in  force  until  after  the  payment  of  the  public 
debt,  and  probably  for  a  period  in  the  future  much  more 
remote.  The  collection  is  so  distant  from  the  people  by 
whom,  as  a  part  of  the  price,  the  tax  is  really  paid,  that 
it  seems  easier  of  payment  than  a  direct  tax,  and  is  there 
fore  likely  to  continue  in  public  favor  as  a  mode  of  col 
lecting  revenue.  Assuming  that  the  tariff  will  be,  then 
how  shall  it  be,  and  what  will  be  its  effect  upon  party 
politics? 

The  important  incident  in  the  political  contest  of  1880 
was  the  abrupt  change  in  the  issue  joined  between  the 
parties.  That  change  was  made  shortly  before  the  elec 
tion.  It  was  universal  in  the  North,  and  almost  immedi 
ate.  The  war  had  been  fought  over  again  during  the 
preceding  months,  and  its  causes  and  consequences  had 
been  considered.  But  it  was  found  that  the  war  issue 
would  not  do.  The  people  refused  to  respond  in  the  pas 
sion  addressed.  The  embroilment  of  the  sections  was 
abandoned.  The  eloquent  champions  of  the  cause  that 
had  been  won  and  settled  fifteen  years  before,  disappeared 
from  the  field.  Men  of  business  came  to  the  front.  They 
presided  at  the  meetings.  They  addressed  the  people. 
To  the  working-men  their  assurances  were  positive  and 
confident  that,  with  Democratic  success,  employment 
would  cease.  Intimidation  prevailed  in  the  shops  and 
factories.  The  Republican  party  at  once  sprang  from  a 
sinking  upon  a  buoyant  platform.  It  was  a  feat  of  the 
greatest  hazard,  yet  it  was  successful,  and  probably  saved 
the  result.  It  was  possible  only  in  an  organization  under 
perfect  drill,  and  occupying  a  favorable  position,  and  with 
an  opponent  badly  located. 

At  Cincinnati,  as  at  St.  Louis,  the  Democracy  declared 
in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only.  The  force  of  the 
declaration  was  probably  not  considered  at  Cincinnati. 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  561 

Certainly  it  was  not  immediately  appreciated  by  the  peo 
ple.  But  it  came  to  be  understood  what  it  was  to  signify 
when,  everywhere  and  at  the  same  time,  it  was  assailed 
as  a  free  trade  sentiment,  and  opposed  to  American  capi 
tal  and  labor.  The  impression  made  upon  the  public 
mind  by  the  assault  was  a  strong  one,  and  the  Democratic 
party  was  driven  upon  the  defensive.  It  was  in  October, 
and  there  was  no  time  for  vindications  ;  the  party  was 
put  upon  explanation  and  apology. 

It  was  curious  as  it  was  annoying,  to  observe  the  unfair 
uses  that  it  was  possible  to  make  of  this  question  in  the 
campaign  of  that  year.  Men  engaged  in  the  manufac 
ture  of  wagons  in  one  city  and  of  plows  and  reapers  in 
another,  were  made  to  believe,  and  to  believe  with  anxi 
ety  and  fear,  that  a  reduction  of  the  tariff  would  close  the 
shops  and  terminate  employment.  The  fate  of  the  tramp 
was  before  them,  and  the  cry  of  starving  children  was  in 
their  ears.  This  was  in  the  shops  where  the  hard  woods 
of  Indiana  and  Michigan  were  used,  and  in  which  iron 
alone,  of  all  the  material  worked,  was  possibly  influenced 
in  its  cost  by  the  Custom  House  duties,  and  that  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  particular  industries. 

Almost  a  generation  had  passed  since  the  tariff  had 
been  made  the  subject  of  thorough  discussion  before  the 
people.  During  that  period  manufactures  had  vastly 
increased,  giving  the  artisan  class  greater  consequence 
in  the  politics  of  the  country  ;  and  toward  the  close  of 
that  period,  agricultural  productions  had  found  a  large 
and  remunerative  market  abroad,  bringing  contentment, 
if  not  satisfaction,  to  that  great  interest,  under  a  system 
of  duties  highly  protective.  The  opportunity  was  singu 
larly  favorable  to  the  attack  made  upon  free  trade,  and 
upon  the  Democracy  as  its  champion. 

In  future  declarations  of  principles  and  purposes,  po 
litical  parties  will  need  to  be  so  distinct  and  clear  in  re- 
36 


562  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

lation  to  the  tariff  that  they  can  not  be  misunderstood  nor 
misrepresented.  The  adjustment  of  the  tariff  has  now  so 
prodigious  an  influence  upon  the  great  business  interests 
of  the  country  that  uncertainty  in  respect  to  it  will  not  be 
tolerated.  It  was  not  unreasonable  that  the  country 
should  understand  the  expression  "  a  tariff  for  revenue 
only,"  as  excluding  all  consideration  of  the  wants  and 
interests  of  business  in  the  arrangement  of  the  rates  of 
duty.  It  was  so  understood,  and  was  very  damaging  to 
the  party  that  made  it.  So  understood,  it  was  a  declara 
tion  that,  in  fixing  the  rates  of  taxation,  revenue  only 
should  be  regarded,  and  that  special  rates  should  not  be 
made  in  accordance  with  the  wants  and  welfare  of  par 
ticular  classes  of  business.  So  understood,  it  was  a  de 
claration  in  opposition  to  the  practice  of  the  Government 
in  important  revenue  legislation.  If  tea  and  coffee  should 
come  in  free  of  duty,  why?  Revenue  only  being  con 
sidered,  surely  a  large  revenue  could  be  collected  from 
those  articles.  The  protectionist  will  assign  them  to  the 
free  list  because,  not  being  produced  in  the  country,  they 
do  not  come  in  competition  with  any  of  our  products. 
Because  of  the  same  fact,  the  free  trader  will  tax  them 
only  short  of  exclusion,  because  the  entire  tax  goes  into 
the  treasury,  and  no  home  producer  shares  in  the  profits 
of  an  advanced  price.  The  better  reason  for  the  discrim 
ination  is  that  tea  and  coffee  are  food,  and  very  import 
ant  to  large  classes  that  ought  not  to  be  taxed  upon  their 
food.  The  exemption  is  sustained  by  the  same  broad 
and  liberal  policy  that  repealed  the  English  corn  laws. 
But,  whatever  reason  may  be  given,  it  is  but  an  exemp 
tion,  and  is  a  departure  from  the  idea  that  taxation  shall 
regard  no  consideration  but  revenue. 

Does  the  declaration  also  forbid  the  free  or  modified 
list  in  favor  of  science  and  education,  of  religion  and  art? 
It  is  a  reproach  to  the  country  that  its  commercial  marine 
has  disappeared  from  the  ocean,  and  that  our  great  pro- 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  563 

ductions  are  carried  to  distant  markets  under  foreign 
flags.  If,  to  encourage  ship  building  and  the  restoration 
of  our  commercial  navy,  it  shall  be  expedient  and  wise 
to  admit  ship  material  free,  or  at  modified  rates,  is  the 
inexorable  dogma  to  hinder?  Shall  the  legislative  judg 
ment  not  consider  an  interest  so  important  to  the  welfare 
and  honor  of  the  country  in  adjusting  the  tariff  ? 

In  his  last  annual  report  the  Commissioner  of  Internal 
Revenue  suggested  that  the  increased  receipts  from  taxes 
and  the  decreased  demands  upon  the  treasury,  would 
enable  Congress  to  relieve  the  people  from  some  of  the 
internal  revenue  taxes,  and  he  also  suggested  that  the 
reduction  should  be  made  from  a  list  as  follows  :  Bank 
checks,  friction  matches,  patent  medicines,  bank  deposits, 
bank  capital. 

That  communication  presented  to  Congress  a  question 
of  judgment  and  discretion.  In  reducing  the  direct  taxes, 
should  that  entire  list  be  dropped,  affecting  the  revenue 
more  than  ten  million  dollars,  and  leaving  the  burden  al 
most  altogether  upon  whisky,  beer  and  tobacco,  or  should 
but  a  part  of  the  list  be  dropped  ;  and  if  so,  what  part  of 
it,  and  upon  what  considerations  of  policy  ?  Should  the 
bank  checks  be  dropped?  Upon  each  check  the  tax  is 
very  light,  yet  it  amounts  annually  to  more  than  two  and 
a  quarter  million  dollars.  It  is  often  inconvenient  in  pay 
ment,  yet  it  is  usually  paid  by  those  upon  whom  it  is  no 
burden.  It  is  an  unequal  tax.  The  ten  dollar  and  the 
ten  thousand  dollar  checks  require  the  same  stamps. 

Should  friction  matches  be  dropped?  That,  too,  is  but 
a  light  tax,  yet  its  sum  exceeds  three  and  a  half  million 
dollars.  It  is  an  exceptional  tax  upon  a  useful  industry, 
and  it  falls  upon  the  entire  people.  Shall  patent  medi 
cines  be  dropped?  They  bring  nearly  two  millions  into 
the  treasury.  It  may  seem  to  be  a  tax  upon  health,  yet 
it  is  doubtful  if  it  adds  much  to  the  cost  as  against  the 
consumer. 


564  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

This  is  given  as  an  illustration  that,  in  the  adjustment 
of  taxes,  Congress  can  not  look  to  revenue  only,  but  must 
exercise  judgment  and  discretion  ;  and  that,  in  the  exer 
cise  thereof,  regard  must  be  had  to  the  interest  and  wel 
fare  of  each  particular  object  of  taxation,  and  to  its  com 
parative  importance  in  the  country.  The  effect  of  in 
ternal  revenue  taxes  upon  the  cost  and  marketable  char 
acter  of  the  articles  taxed  is  direct  and  immediate,  whilst 
the  effect  of  custom  house  duties  upon  the  prices  of  do 
mestic  products  is  incidental  and  remote,  but  hardly  less 
positive  and  certain.  If  the  demand  be  equal  to  the  do 
mestic  product,  and  to  a  like  quantity  from  abroad,  the 
certain  and  almost  immediate  effect  of  the  import  duty  is 
to  add  tha*t,  or  nearly  as  much,  to  the  cost  of  the  entire 
supply.  The  quality  being  the  same,  the  cost  of  the  im 
ported  article,  after  paying  the  tax,  becomes  the  market 
price  of  the  domestic  supply.  Otherwise  they  could  not 
occupy  the  same  market  field  at  the  same  time. 

If  it  be  the  duty  of  Congress  in  fixing  the  rates  of  di 
rect  taxes,  to  consider  the  effect  thereof  upon  the  interests 
taxed,  why  is  it  not  equally  and  plainly  its  duty  in  estab 
lishing  rates  of  custom  house  taxation  to  consider  the  ef 
fect  upon  all  important  domestic  interests,  although  inci 
dental,  yet  being  positive  and  certain? 

The  revenues  from  taxes  and  duties  are  increasing ; 
whilst  by  the  reduction  of  the  public  debt  and  the  rates 
of  interest,  the  expenditures  should  be  decreased,  so  that 
at  an  early  day  Congress  will  be  able  largely  to  reduce 
the  list  of  taxed  imports.  The  most  extreme  and  selfish 
protectionist  will  not  ask  that  classes  of  imported  goods 
shall  be  taxed  after  such  taxation  has  ceased  to  be  nec 
essary  for  revenue.  What  classes  shall  then  be  dropped 
and  assigned  to  the  free  list,  and  what  rates  shall  be  fixed 
upon  the  retained  classes?  The  rTites  can  not  be  uniform. 
A  horizontal  tariff  is  impossible.  Both  revenue  and  busi 
ness  would  protest.  The  inquiries  made  above  can  not 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  565 

be  answered  by  theorists.  Not  by  the  free  trader,  who 
would  substitute  direct  taxes  for  the  entire  list,  without 
indicating  the  domestic  productions  that  must  carry  the 
burden  if  a  deficit  should  appear  after  whisky,  beer  and 
tobacco  have  yielded  their  largest  possible  supply.  Nor 
by  the  protectionist,  who  overlooks  revenue  in  his  search 
after  speculative  profit.  Nor,  indeed,  by  the  advocate 
of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  if  he  is  again  to  be  under 
stood  as  he  was  in  1880 ;  for  in  his  eager  pursuit  of  rev 
enue  he  overlooks  the  manifest  wants  of  business. 

In  reconstructing  the  tariff,  the  wants  of  revenue  and 
the  welfare  of  business  should  be  harmonized.  Of  ne 
cessity,  it  will  first  have  to  be  decided  what  proportion  of 
the  revenue  shall  be  collected  through  the  instrumental 
ity  of  the  tariff*  and  in  the  second  place,  what  classes  of 
imports  shall  be  included  in  the  tax  lists  and  what  shall 
be  left  in  the  free  schedules.  When  these  primary  ques 
tions  shall  have  been  settled,  there  will  remain  but  little 
of  political  principle  applicable  to  the  unfinished  work. 
Thereafter  it  will  be  almost  wholly  a  work  of  detail.  It 
will  remain  only  to  apportion  the  taxes  among  the  taxable 
imports.  That  work  will  require  the  aid  of  the  merchant, 
the  manufacturer,  the  machinist,  the  chemist,  the  best 
business  skill  and  judgment  of  the  country — men  capable 
of  understanding  the  effect  of  proposed  legislation  upon 
all  the  important  interests.  The  ordinary  partisan  poli 
tician  is  not  prepared  for  so  important  and  delicate  a 
duty  ;  nor,  indeed,  is  the  Congressional  Committee  likely 
to  be.  The  committees  are  chosen  under  an  administra 
tion  of  the  House  of  Representatives  somewhat  personal^ 
and  with  a  reference  to  the  wishes  and  ambition  of  the 
Speaker  and  his  friends,  rather  than  to  any  special  fitness 
for  the  service.  A  committee  organized  under  such  in 
fluences  can  not  be  master  of  the  situation.  They  are 
liable  to  fall  under  influences  unfavorable  to  fair  and  im 
partial  legislation.  Shrewd  and  selfish  men  beset  the 


566  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

committee-room.  Plausibly  they  urge  peculiar  and  sinis 
ter  policies.  Special  and  partial  interests  are  likely  to 
receive  favor,  to  the  hurt  of  more  meritorious  enterprises. 
The  effect  of  such  a  condition  of  the  public  business  is 
felt  in  the  want  of  confidence  generally  expressed  over 
the  country  at  any  movement  in  Congress  for  any  impor 
tant  modification  of  the  tariff. 

Two  things  are  desirable,  and  should  be  sought  after : 

First.  To  take  the  tariff  out  of  politics,  or  perhaps 
speaking  more  correctly,  to  take  politics  out  of  the  tariff. 

Second.  To  establish  the  tariff  as  a  business  interest 
of  the  country. 

In  its  enormous  detail,  the  tariff  is  not  politics  ;  it  is  es 
sential  business.  It  is  folly  longer  to  pretend  that  there 
are  any  political  agreements  about  it.  In  Pennsylvania, 
iron  is  business  ;  in  southern  Indiana,  plate-glass  is  poli 
tics.  In  the  details,  each  wants  the  advantage  ;  and  the 
pretended  politics  of  either  sparkles  like  the  iron  when 
hot,  and  is  hollow  like  the  glass  when  blown.  Either  one 
should  blush  to  talk  about  its  principles.  It  is  only  selfish 
and  determined,  like  any  other  pursuit  of  money. 

It  is  folly,  also,  to  claim  absolute  uniformity  of  opinion 
in  respect  to  tariff,  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  either 
party  in  the  past.  In  the  period  when  manufactures  were 
young  and  feeble,  the  powerful  men  of  both  parties  may 
be  quoted  in  favor  of  their  encouragement ;  but  now  the 
conditions  are  changed,  and  the  views  then  expressed  are 
no  longer  applicable.  Manufactures  are  now  strong  and 
firmly  established,  and  agriculture  and  other  interests 
may  justly  protest  against  any  advantage  to  their  preju 
dice  not  incident  to  a  wise  and  expedient  revenue  sys 
tem. 

In  the  winter  of  1879-80  Senator  Eaton,  of  Con 
necticut,  introduced  into  the  Senate  a  bill  "  to  provide  for 
the  appointment  of  a  Commission  to  investigate  the  ques 
tion  of  the  tariff."  The  bill  received  the  prompt  and 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  567 

favorable  consideration  of  that  body.  The  measure  at 
tracted  much  attention,  because  its  distinguished  author 
represented  in  the  Senate  an  enormous  investment  in 
manufactures,  and  because  it  subsequently  received  the 
approval  of  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
and,  perhaps,  thereby  became  the  Democratic  sentiment 
rather  than  the  Cincinnati  resolution.  In  addition  to 
making  the  tariff  non-political  and  placing  it  on  a  busi 
ness  foundation,  the  bill  proposed  to  ascertain,  in  a  re 
liable  way,  the  considerations  that  should  prevail  in 
adjusting  the  rates  of  taxation  upon  the  various  classes 
and  qualities  of  article  taxed. 

The  bill  required  the  appointment  of  nine  Commission 
ers  from  civil  life,  whose  duty  it  was  made  to  visit  all  the 
different  sections  of  the  country,  and  thoroughly  to  inves 
tigate  all  the  various  questions  "  relating  to  the  agricul 
tural,  commercial,  mercantile,  manufacturing,  mining 
and  industrial  interests  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the 
same  may  be  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  a  judicious 
tariff,  or  a  revision  of  the  existing  tariff  upon  a  scale  of 
justice  to  all  interests."  The  testimony  taken  and  the 
investigation  made  were  to  be  reported  to  Congress. 

The  bill  proposed  what  a  Congressional  Committee  could 
not  do,  but  what  a  Commission  of  skilled  men  could  do — 
that  is,  in  a  reliable  and  intelligent  manner  to  investigate 
and  report  upon  all  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  so 
far  as  they  could  be  affected  by  the  tariff,  and  so  that  the 
tariff  might  be  adjusted  fairly  and  without  partiality. 
The  information  so  acquired  and  the  carefully  considered 
opinions  of  the  Commission  being  laid  before  Congress 
and  its  committees,  justice  would  prevail,  and  neither 
crude,  partial  nor  oppressive  legislation  could  find  favor. 
Political  controversies  would  cease,  and  the  schemers  for 
advantage,  and  the  lobbyists  for  hire,  would  find  their  oc 
cupations  gone.  From  time  to  time  modifications  would 
be  made,  only  as  required  by  revenue  or  suggested  by 


568  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

business.  The  increased  reduction  of  the  public  debt, 
made  possible  by  the  condition  of  trade,  will  render  fur 
ther  modifications  of  the  tariff  also  possible  and  proper. 
Whenever  the  reduction  shall  go  beyond  the  dropping  of 
articles  and  classes  from  the  schedules,  and  shall  require 
important  changes  of  rates,  Congress  should  again  avail 
itself  of  the  services  of  the  Commission,  and  thus  preserve 
the  non-partisan  and  impartial  character  of  the  law. 

The  future  will  probably  develop  conditions  requiring 
new  and  greatly  modified  views.      If  the  country  shall 
become  involved  in  no  trouble  now  unlocked    for,  nor 
encounter  periods  of  special  and  prolonged  business  de 
pression,  the  public  debt  will  disappear.     The  treasury 
will  then  be  required  to  provide  only  for  the  pensions  that 
may  remain,  and   for  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  the  revenue  system   will  be   adjusted   by 
the  standard  of  that  requirement.     What   the  ordinary 
expenditures  may  be,  will  depend  so  largely  upon  Con 
gressional  views  of  constitutional  and  legitimate  appro 
priations,  and  upon  the  length  of  the  star  routes  in  the 
Executive  Departments,  that  it  is  quite  impossible  closely 
to  estimate.     It  must,  however,  be  safe  to  say  that  under 
no  administration  can  the  sum  exceed  the  capabilities  of 
the  tariff,  and  it  will  not  probably  go  beyond  the  receipts 
possible  from  internal  revenue.     If  so,  the  Government 
may  receive  its  support  either  entirely  from  the  tariff,  or 
altogether  from  the  internal  revenue  tax.     From  which 
shall  it  be?     The  adherents  of  incidental  protection  will 
insist  that  it  shall   be,  as  it  was  before  the  war,  from   the 
tariff  alone  ;  but  large  masses  of  the  people  will  claim 
that  whisky,  beer  and  tobacco  are  luxuries,  as  well  done 
without  as  used, 'and  that  they  should  bear  the  burden 
rather  than  it  should  fall  upon  the  useful  and  necessary 
articles  of  life,  whether  produced  in  the  country  or  im 
ported.     Before  the  war  the  direct  tax  was  unknown  to 
the  people,  and  not   thought  of  by  them   as  a  substitute 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  5691 

for  the  tariff  in  providing  ordinary  revenue.  They  have 
now  become  accustomed  to  it,  and  are  more  familiar 
with  its  operations  and  effects  than  with  those  of  the 
tariff.  They  know  it  increases  the  prices  of  domestic 
products  directly  and  largely.  Tobacco  and  beer  will 
make  their  fight  for  exemption  from  the  tax,  upon  the 
ground  that  they  are  products  of  home  capital  and  labor. 
Whisky,  too,  will  make  a  giant  struggle  for  exemption, 
and  will  receive  the  support  not  only  of  interested  parties, 
but  also  of  all  those  who  are  unwilling  that  its  production 
shall  appear  to  have  the  sanction  of  public  authority.  All 
these  powerful  influences  will  unite  in  favor  of  a  tariff  as 
the  exclusive  source  of  Federal  revenue.  The  motive  of 
such  union  will  be  their  own  exemption.  In  support  of 
a  tariff  they  are  indifferent  in  respect  to  its  influence  upon 
the  prices  of  other  domestic  products,  so  only  that  it  shall 
save  them  from  the  direct  tax. 

What  other  influences  will  come  to  the  support  of  a 
tariff  as  the  permanent  system  of  Federal  taxation?  The 
partisan  leader  will  need  to  consider  this  question  with 
care  if  his  leadership  is  to  be  to  success.  It  can  not  be 
answered  now  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  Of  course 
you  include  all  the  interests  benefited.  Iron  and  plate- 
glass  and  woolen  and  cotton  fabrics  take  their  sides  at 
once.  Capital  and  labor  which  they  employ  are  assigned 
positions  on  election  day  as  positively  as  on  any  day  of 
the  year.  That  vote  alone  would  not  be  formidable,  but 
there  stands  in  sympathy  by  its  side  an  element  of  great 
strength.  It  is  the  vote  that  comes  from  the  other  shops 
and  from  the  neighboring  agricultural  communities.  Do 
you  ask  why  they  stand  there  in  sympathy?  And  well  you 
may  ask  that  question,  for  the  enhanced  price  of  the  pro 
tected  article  is  to  their  hurt.  We  know  why  these  others 
stand  together,  for  they  have  just  come  from  the  furnace 
where  the  iron  is  made,  or  from  the  mill  where  it  is  rolled. 
The  tariff  is  a  per  cent,  not  upon  its  cost,  but  upon  the 


570  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

price  of  the  iron,  and  some  of  that  per  cent,  may  go  to 
the  labor.  But  neither  of  us  can  tell  why  others  whom 
we  see  and  their  comrades  are  there,  and  shouting  for  pro 
tection,  for  they  come  from  the  car  shops,  where  the  hard 
woods  of  Indiana  are  made  into  car^,  and  where  the  iron 
used  in  binding  the  timbers  together  has  been  bought 
from  the  manufacturer  with  the  custom  house  duty  upon 
the  price. 

The  car  goes  into  the  market  with  that  additional  cost 
upon  it.  It  is  the  interest  of  labor  that  its  products  shall 
iind  a  ready  sale.  The  enhanced  cost  of  the  car,  not  ex 
pended  in  its  construction,  but  in  the  protection  of  its 
iron,  is  to  that  extent  an  impediment  to  its  sale,  and  so 
far  a  hurt  to  labor.  But  whether  we  can  give  the  reason 
or  not,  the  men  from  the  car  shops  are  shouting  and  vot 
ing  with  the  men  from  the  iron  furnace.  The  party  leader 
who  prepares  the  platform  and  leads  the  fight,  had  bet 
ter  resign  before  he  leads  to  other  defeats,  if  he  can  not 
perceive  and  comprehend  the  sympathies  that  control 
them.  In  the  shops  and  at  the  polls  the  men  are  in  sym 
pathy,  and  raise  their  caps  to  what  they  believe  to  be  the 
protecting  genius  of  American  labor.  It  is  the  sympathy 
of  brotherhood,  which  a  prudent  leadership  will  recog 
nize  and  respect. 

When  almost  exclusively  agricultural,  Indiana  was 
easily  influenced  against  protection  ;  now,  in  all  her  im 
portant  towns  and  cities,  valuable  manufactures  have  be 
come  established,  giving  useful  employment  to  labor,  and 
sending  a  large  and  intelligent  vote  to  the  polls;  and  he 
who  aspires  to  partisan  leadership  finds  the  present  con 
test  very  different  from  that  which  gave  the  State  to  Mr. 
Polk  in  1844. 

When  the  time  shall  come  for  the  election  beween  the 
two  systems  of  revenue,  the  influences  for  the  tariff  will 
have  grown  stronger,  and  have  reached  and  controlled 
the  sympathies  and  support  of  additional  States.  Manu- 


SHALL    TWO    STATES    RULE    THE    UNION?  571 

factures  are  increasing  in  the  United  States,  and  will 
probably  continue  to  increase  at  yet  greater  rates.  It  is 
stated  that  "  in  1870  America  had  157,310  looms  at  work 
in  her  cotton  factories;  to-day  (1881)  she  has  230,232." 
That  was  an  increase  of  72,913  in  eleven  years  that  in 
cluded  the  four  years  of  the  panic,  when  all  machinery 
and  enterprise  stood  still.  Not  only  increase,  but  exten 
sion  also,  is  the  law  of  American  enterprise.  New  and 
inviting  fields  are  being  developed.  It  is  found  better  to 
take  the  loom  to  the  cotton  than  to  carry  the  cotton  to  the 
loom.  Freight  saved  gives  a  dividend  to  the  stockholder 
of  the  Georgia  mill.  His  returns  were  regular  during  all 
of  the  depressed  period.  Assured  profits  invite  capital. 
In  pride  and  sympathy,  Georgia  will  stand  by  her  enter 
prise.  Upon  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland,  coal  and 
iron  ore  in  great  deposits  lie  in  parallel  planes.  Develop 
ment  has  illustrated  the  cheapness  of  their  manufacture 
into  merchant  and  railroad  iron.  There,  also,  capital  is 
invited,  and  is  going. 

Alabama  and  Tennessee  will  not  be  indifferent  to  devel 
opments  that  add  so  much  to  their  wealth  and  influence. 
Their  support  will  be  given,  as  Pennsylvania's  support  has 
always  been  given,  to  the  furnaces  and  rolling  mills. 

The  defects  in  the  present  law  can  not  become  perma 
nent.  Policy  and  justice  unite  in  demanding  their  cor 
rection.  They  give  to  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts 
too  greatly  the  advantage  in  the  active  business  of  the 
country.  Two  States  must  not  rule  the  Union. 

Mr.  Joseph  Hatton,  in  his  "To-day  in  America,"  quotes 
the  following  criticisms  upon  our  tariff,  from  the  Chair 
man  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Bradford,  Eng 
land :  "The  duty  on  every  kind  of  cloth  is  uniformly 
fifty  cents  per  pound  weight,  and  thirty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  value  ;  and  taking  the  average  value  of  mixed  woolen 
goods  at  one  shilling  and  four  pence  per  pound,  the  duty 
amounts  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  per  cent,  of  the  cost ; 


572  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

and  with  thirty-five  per  cent,  added,  the  total  of  the  com 
bined  duties  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  ninetv-one  per 
cent,  ad  -valorem.  Woolens  intended  for  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  are  taxed  so  highly  that  they  are  virtually 
excluded.  Thus,  a  superfine  black  broadcloth  may  pos 
sibly  be  bought  in  New  York  at  not  more  than  double  its 
price  in  Europe  ;  while  a  good  quantity  of  black  pilot, 
worth  one  shilling  and  eight  pence  per  yard,  can  not  be 
sold  to  the  American  laborer  at  less  than  four  or  five  times 
the  price  at  which  an  operative  in  England  may  procure 
that  good,  useful  and  warm  material  for  his  coat." 

The  same  author  quotes  from  Mr.  Brown,  of  the  well- 
known  firm  of  Stansfield,  Brown  &  Co.,  to  show  that  the 
combined  tax  of  fifty  cents  per  pound  and  thirty-five  per 
cent,  ad  valorem  on  serge  de  Beni  and  lasting,  used 
largely  by  American  workmen  in  the  manufacture  of 
boots  and  shoes,  is  about  ninety-four  percent,  on  the  Eng 
lish  cost,  rendering  the  price  enormous,  to  the  detriment 
of  the  customer  and  injury  of  the  trade  ;  and  that  the 
consequence  has  been  the  destruction  of  a  large  export 
trade. 

Other  illustrations  might  be  given  of  the  extreme  folly 
of  many  of  the  provisions  of  our  present  tariff.  They  are 
not  only  unjust  toward  foreign  countries  with  which  we 
have  a  liberal  trade  of  enormous  value,  but  hurtful  to  our 
own  manufacturers  and  consumers.  Imports  should  be 
taxed  upon  their  values.  To  fix  the  value  of  an  article 
by  its  weight  is  absurd ;  the  coarser  and  cheaper  fabric 
is  likely  to  be  the  heavier.  Such  vices  in  our  system 
will  disappear  when  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  intelli 
gent  and  just  men. 

The  writer  believes  that,  in  many  and  important  lines 
of  manufactures,  American  capital,  labor  and  improved 
machinery  can  now  successfully  compete  with  European 
enterprise,  but  he  does  not  believe  that  fact  will  modify 
the  popular  demand  for  a  tariff  to  meet  the  ordinary  ex- 


ADDRESS — "OUR    COUNTRY."  573 

penses  of  the  Government.  Therefore  it  seems  to  him 
the  more  important  that,  in  the  mode  suggested,  the  tariff 
shall  be  removed  from  the  influences  of  partisan  and  per 
sonal  importunities,  and  established  upon  a  basis  in  har 
mony  with  the  necessity  of  revenue  and  the  welfare  of 
business. 


XIII.  ADDRESS 

IN   RESPONSE   TO   THE   TOAST   "  OUR   COUNTRY." 

Iroquois  Club,  Chicago,  March  15,  1882. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen :  You  will  no  doubt 
regard  it  as  appropriate  in  responding  to  this  toast  to  re 
fer  to  some  of  the  circumstances  that  especially  contribute 
to  our  country's  greatness  and  power.  Some  of  the  im 
portant  influences  and  agencies  must,  however,  be  omit 
ted.  I  can  not  so  much  as  make  mention  of  all.  The 
railroads,  the  telegraphs  and  the  telephones  have  been 
heretofore  sufficiently  discussed. 

But  with  your  permission  and  approval,  we  will  take 
a  journey  upon  some  of  the  great  lines  of  railroads. 
Shall  it  be  from  Boston  to  San  Francisco?  Seven  days 
and  seven  nights  will  pass  as  the  train  flies  onward,  be 
fore  we  hear  the  ceaseless  murmur  of  the  Pacific.  Such 
a  journey  from  Paris  eastward  would  carry  us  beyond 
Europe  and  far  into  Asia.  The  line  of  our  travel  marks 
and  measures  the  great  extent  of  our  country.  The  same 
flag  remains  over  us.  [Applause.] 

We  start  from  the  landing  place  of  the  Mayflower  and 
will  stop  alongside  the  great  steamers  that  are  in  our 
trade  with  China  and  Japan.  All  the  way  our  hearts  are 
cheered  with  the  music  of  active  industry,  and  towns  and 
cities  are  our  mile  posts.  As  we  pass  New  York  and 


574  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

Chicago  we  take  off  our  hats  in  recognition  of  the  indom 
itable  genius -of  daring  and  successful  enterprise.  [Ap 
plause.]  All  the  way,  and  in  every  employment  and 
pursuit,  health,  energy  and  courage  compel  success,  and 
the  numerous  trains  we  meet  carrying  our  products  to 
their  markets,  answer  the  inquiry  why  the  balance  of 
trade  with  foreign  countries  has  been  so  largely  in  our 
favor.  On  the  summit  of  the  mountains  as  we  gaze  upon 
the  distant  plains  toward  the  Atlantic  and  toward  the 
Pacific,  the  spirit  of  our  country  is  upon  us,  and  assures 
us  that  in  every  element  of  wealth  and  greatness  we  are 
to  lead  all  the  nations  if  we  but  dwell  together  in  peace 
and  harmony.  [Renewed  applause.] 

San  Francisco  is  the  New  York  of  the  Pacific  Coast. 
It  commands  the  commerce  of  the  East,  and  the  trade 
of  the  Pacific  Slope,  in  its  gold  and  silver  products  of 
the  soil.  We  will  go  out  upon  the  bay,  and  as  far  as  the 
Golden  Gate.  This  is  the  great  entrance  to  our  country 
from  the  Pacific.  It  can  be  securely  defended,  and  the 
defenses  already  completed  are  probably  impregnable. 

We  can  not  remain  longer  at  San  Francisco.  Of  course 
we  will  return  by  the  southern  route.  The  next  time  it 
will  be  by  the  northern  route.  The  train  can  not  wait 
for  us  to  visit  the  vineyards  and  orange  groves  of  Los 
Angeles,  or  San  Gabriel,  or  San  Bernardino.  Fruit  of 
the  richest  quality  and  wines  of  choice  flavor  and  of  great 
value  are  here  produced.  I  can  not  conceive  of  anything, 
not  even  the  magnolia,  more  beautiful  than  the  orange 
tree,  when  the  ripe  fruit  and  the  blossom  mingle  with 
foliage  of  the  deepest  green.  It  was  a  beautiful  concep 
tion  of  the  Spaniard  to  call  this  the  land  of  angels.  We 
will  not  stop  at  that  ancient  seat  of  our  military  power, 
Fort  Yuma,  at  the  crossing  of  the  Colorado,  except  to 
say  good-by  to  California. 

Passing  the  long  line  of  rail  through  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico  and  the  great  State  of  Texas,  we  reach  New 


ADDRESS "  OUR    COUNTRY."  575 

Orleans.  It  was  here  the  illustrious  patriot  and  states 
man,  the  anniversary  of  whose  natal  day  we  celebrate, 
achieved  great  renown  as  a  warrior.  [Great  applause.] 
It  is  115  years  since  the  day  of  his  birth,  and  forty-five 
since  his  retirement  from  public  life.  Yet  his  name  and 
fame  are  cherished  with  the  same  devotion  by  the  people 
as  when  in  their  midst  he  defended  their  safety  on  the 
battle  field  and  protected  their  rights  in  the  Executive 
Mansion.  [Applause.]  We  stand  beside  the  Father  of 
Waters.  He  rages,  and  his  anger  is  frightful.  His  pun 
ishment  of  the  people  on  the  border  is  cruel  and  remorse 
less.  He  has  broken  away  from  the  restraints  that  held 
him  in  his  channel.  He  has  driven  the  people  from  their 
farms  and  seized  their  lands.  What  agencies  shall  be  in 
voked  to  control  the  turbulent  waters?  When  it  was  once 
my  duty  to  speak  and  vote  on  this  question,  I  had  diffi 
culty  in  satisfying  myself  of  the  authority  of  Congress  to 
vote  money  to  maintain  the  levees.  It  seemed  it  was  not 
so  much  in  aid  of  commerce  as  to  defend  and  protect 
agriculture.  But  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  as  Jeffer 
son  had  found  authority  in  the  Constitution  for  the  pur 
chase  of  that  country  I  might  feel  authority  to  vote  for  its 
preservation.  The  great  interests  of  the  country  required 
it.  [Laughter.] 

Shall  we  return  by  way  of  Washington?  Perhaps  it 
would  be  of  interest  to  witness  something  of  the  strife  be 
tween  the  belligerent  elements  of  the  Republican  party. 
[Laughter.]  My  sympathies  were  with  the  Stalwarts. 
[Applause.]  I  thought  them  the  more  sincere  and  hon 
est  ;  and  also  they  seemed  at  one  lime  to  be  the  "under 
dog  in  the  fight."  [Laughter.] 

Our  journey  is  now  ended.  What  have  we  observed? 
This  we  can  say  :  Our  country  is  great  and  strong,  be 
cause  it  has  a  great  and  strong  population.  We  have 
journeyed  among*  the  people  and  observed  their  charac 
teristics  ;  engaged  in  useful  and  honorable  industry,  they 


576  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

fill  the  valleys ;  seeking  homes,  subsistence  and  wealth, 
they  climb  the  mountain  sfdes.  [Applause.] 

The  great  qualities  that  characterize  our  people  are  the 
result,  as  I  suppose,  of  the  commingling  of  the  blood  of 
the  strongest  nations.  They  are  irresistible  in  the  pur 
suits  of  peace,  invincible  in  war.  [Renewed  applause.] 
Barbarism  in  Russia  and  cruelty  in  England  will  stimu 
late  the  spirit  of  immigration  to  these  States  from  all  parts 
of  Europe,  and  our  population  will  be  increased  at  a 
greater  rate  than  ever. 

We  have  also  observed  in  our  journey  the  great  variety 
of  climate,  of  soil,  and  of  production  ;  each  section  is  de 
veloping  those  industries  to  which  it  is  best  adapted. 
You  gentlemen  who  have  never  before  traveled  over  the 
great  Northwest  have  seen  with  wonder  and  admiration 
the  extent  and  value  of  our  agricultural  productions,  while 
we  of  the  North  have  rejoiced  at  the  increased  cotton 
growth  of  the  South.  We  all  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the 
sections  maintain  an  honorable  and  friendly  rivalry  for 
the  greatest  success  in  their  respective  productions.  Cotton 
in  the  South  and  corn  in  the  North,  each  claim  now  to  be 
king.  They  are  so  great,  so  powerful,  and  contribute  so 
largely  to  hold  the  balance  of  trade  in  our  favor  with 
other  countries,  that  each  may  well  claim  a  sceptre.  In 
excellence  of  quality  and  in  the  quantity  produced,  each 
is  almost  the  exclusive  product  of  this  country,  and  each 
may  securely  rely  upon  the  wants  of  mankind  to  supply 
a  market.  That  product  which  always  commands  a 
market  is  king. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  while  with  grateful  pride 
we  are  considering  the  vast  extent  of  our  country  and 
the  great  variety  and  enormous  value  of  its  productions, 
we  are  admonished  that  the  purest  of  our  patriots  and  the 
wisest  of  our  statesmen  have  expressed  their  fears  and 
profound  anxiety  lest  out  of  these  shall'  come  jealousies 
and  antagonisms.  No  danger  need  be  apprehended  from 


THE    ADVOCATE.  577 

that  source  if  we  stand  by  our  system  and  form  of  gov 
ernment.  It  was  the  child  of  patriotism  and  wisdom,  and 
experience  has  proven  it  well  suited  to  our  condition. 
[Applause.]  It  is  madness  to  hope  that  a  consolidated 
and  single  authority  can  maintain  peaceful  government 
over  a  country  so  extended,  and  with  productions  and  in 
terests  so  varied.  If  we  but  maintain  the  Constitutional 
authority  of  the  United  States,  and  preserve  to  each  State 
the  right  to  regulate  whatever  belongs  to  itself  alone,  we 
need  fear  no  troubles  arising  from  sectional  jealousies, 
however  much  our  territory  may  be  extended  or  our  pro 
ductions  increased.  [Great  applause.] 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen,  I  thank  you  for  the  cor 
dial  reception  that  you  have  extended  to  me  upon  this 
brilliant  and  interesting  occasion,  and  I  close  my  remarks 
by  expressing  the  hope  that  the  Iroquois  Club  of  Chicago 
will  meet  with  uninterrupted  success  and  glory.  [Cheers.] 


XIV.     THE  ADVOCATE. 

AN   ADDRESS   TO   THE   CENTRAL   LAW   SCHOOL. 

Indianapolis,  April  12,  1882. 

The  position  of  the  successful  advocate  is  one  of  great 
influence  and  responsibility.  He  is  brought  into  close 
relations  with  society  in  all  of  its  interests.  Men  come 
to  him  with  their  most  delicate  and  difficult  affairs.  They 
communicate  to  him  their  secrets  and  their  troubles. 
The  entrust  him  with  their  honor  and  their  fortunes.  His 
training  in  early  manhood  and  the  labors  of  his  life  qual 
ify  him  to  advise  and  direct,  as  well  as  to  prosecute  and 
defend.  Under  our  system  he  is  brought  into  direct  cor- 
37 


578  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

respondence  with  his  clients.  He  stands  with  and  for 
them.  His  strength  and  influence  become  theirs,  and 
his  presence  compensates  for  all  inequalities.  He  in 
spires  the  timid  with  courage  and  the  weak  with  strength. 
Represented  by  equals,  the  suitors  themselves  become 
equals. 

In  the  midst  of  relations  and  duties  so  delicate  and  re 
sponsible,  what  rule  should  govern  the  advocate  in  ac 
cepting  his  employment?  Very  opposite  and  extreme 
opinions  have  been  expressed.  Some  have  held  that  it 
is  never  allowable  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  guilty,  or  to 
urge  defences  that  are  contrary  to  natural  justice ;  while 
others  go  as  far  as  to  deny  the  right  to  reject  any  em 
ployment  accompanied  by  usual  and  reasonable  com 
pensation.  Upon  neither  of  these  extremes  can  we  safely 
stand.  The  advocate  is  not  the  Judge.  He  has  not  the 
means  in  advance  of  a  full  and  satisfactory  trial.  With 
less  than  such  a  trial  he  could  not  venture  to  turn  a  party 
away  with  a  rejected  case,  and  thereby  "  put  the  heavv 
influence  of  perhaps  a  mistaken  opinion  into  the  scales  " 
against  him. 

In  law  the  defense  may  be  sufficient,  but  in  the  more 
uncertain  field  of  morals  it  may  be  doubtful,  or  perhaps 
condemned.  The  Judge  may  hold  the  conduct  in  law 
justified,  whilst  priest  or  presbyter,  will  denounce  it  as  a 
sin.  In  such  case  shall  the  legal  defense  be  refused  be 
cause  of  the  moral  obliquity  of  the  conduct  of  the  ac 
cused  ?  A  verbal  promise  to  pay  becomes  barred  after 
the  lapse  of  the  prescribed  period  of  limitation.  The 
creditor  may  be  misled,  and  his  indulgence  carried  be 
yond  the  line  of  safety  by  his  relations  of  friendship  and 
confidence  with  his  debtor.  In  such  case  the  defense 
would  be  legal,  but  in  good  conscience  and  honor  it 
would  be  detestable.  May  the  advocate  then  make  and 
urge  it?  Experience  has  taught  the  lesson  that  it  is  un 
safe  to  permit  men  to  be  held  liable  upon  contracts  not 


THE    ADVOCATE.  579 

reduced  to  writing  after  the  prescribed  period  of  limita 
tion.  Long  contracts  should  not  be  written  in  the  shift 
ing  sands  of  memory  ;  and  the  evidence  in  support  of 
other  defenses  may  have  disappeared.  The  debt  may 
have  been  paid,  but  the  witnesses  to  the  fact  may  be 
dead.  The  statute  of  limitations  rests  upon  considera 
tions  of  sound  public  policy.  Its  interposition  as  a  defense 
against  unpaid  and  just  debt  may  in  many  instances  be 
hard  and  inequitable,  yet  because  it  is  the  law,  and  has 
the  support  of  sound  policy,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  advocate 
to  make  and  urge  it  when  so  required  by  his  client.  So 
it  would  be  in  other  like  causes. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  advocate  is  not  required  to 
serve  every  one  who  may  be  ready  and  willing  to  pay. 
In  the  selection  of  his  causes  he  may  reasonably  consult 
his  own  tastes,  and  especially  his  judgment  of  his  own 
fitness  and  qualifications  for  their  management.  He  will 
find  some  classes  of  business  specially  disagreeable,  and 
that  for  other  classes  he  lacks  important  qualifications. 
His  own  success  and  the  interests  of  his  clients  forbid  his 
employment  in  either. 

There  are  other  considerations,  however,  which  can 
not  be  allowed  ever  to  control.  It  can  never  be  asked, 
if  the  client  be  a  favorite  and  his  cause  popular.  Indeed, 
if  it  were  otherwise,  and  right  and  justice  thereby  placed 
in  danger,  the  contest  would  at  once  acquire  additional 
interest. 

At  one  of  the  periods  of  fanatical  passion  in  the  coun 
try,  the  property  of  a  citizen  was  furiously  assailed  and 
destroyed.  By  many  it  was  not  thought  safe  to  interpose 
for  the  vindication  of  his  outraged  rights.  My  friend  did 
not  stop  to  estimate  the  measure  of  danger,  but,  impelled 
by  an  honorable  impulse  as  well  as  by  a  sense  of  pro 
fessional  duty,  set  the  appropriate  machinery  of  the  law 
in  motion.  At  the  hour  for  the  return  of  the  warrants 
the  accused  and  their  abettors,  in  large  numbers,  armed 


580  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

with  formidable  clubs,  appeared  at  the  bar,  defiant  and 
menacing.  The  court  was  overcome,  and  its  officers 
were  powerless.  Public  authority  lay  prostrate  in  the 
presence  of  a  mob.  In  the  spirit  of  his  proud  profession, 
and  with  the  bearing  of  a  knight  of  the  older  time,  my 
friend  stepped  before  that  crowd  of  angry  men,  and  de 
nouncing  their  resistance  to  law,  demanded  of  them  to 
bow  to  its  authority  and  obey  its  mandates.  High  cour 
age  and  the  right  prevailed.  One  by  one  they  withdrew. 
The  authority  of  the  law  was  restored.  The  injured  citi 
zen  was  compensated.  My  friend  won  other  and  greater 
causes,  but  in  no  one  cause  did  he  achieve  greater  honor. 

Some  of  the  great  achievements  in  the  cause  of  civil 
liberty  have  been  won  at  the  bar.  Men  have  grasped 
imperishable  fame  by  the  defenses  there  made  in  the 
cause  of  human  rights.  Remorseless  prosecutions,  under 
cruel  laws,  have  been  met  and  resisted,  defied  and  de 
feated,  with  giant  strength  and  lion  courage,  in  the  cause 
of  liberty. 

From  out  the  great  contests  in  court,  over  individual 
rights,  have  sprung  reforms  and  repeals  that  have  placed 
the  rights  of  man  far  in  advance. 

The  mob  of  June  2,  1780,  in  the  streets  of  London, 
headed  by  Lord  George  Gordon,  wras  a  cruel  and  inde 
fensible  outrage  upon  a  peaceable  and  unoffending  com 
munity,  prompted  by  the  meanest  of  human  motives. 
Pillage,  sacrilege,  arson  and  murder  marked  its  progress. 
Its  leader  was  apprehended  for  high  treason.  No  ordi- 
narv  courage  and  abilitv  could  have  undertaken  such  a 
defense.  At  once  it  met  the  condemnation  of  mankind. 
But  from  out  the  storm  of  the  Hot  and  the  smoke  of  burn 
ing  London  the  peerless  genius  of  Erskin  carried  for 
England  a  reformed  law  of  treason. 

All  efforts  made  by  arbitrary  powers  to  control  and  re 
strain  the  spirit  of  liberty,  by  public  prosecutions  and 
State  trials,  have  failed  of  their  purpose  whenever  great 


THE    ADVOCATE.  581 

advocates  have  appeared  for  the  accused.  Law  and  lib 
erty  have  come  forth  from  the  discussions  and  gone  for 
ward  together,  and  cruel  punishments  could  not  stay 
them. 

Having  enlisted  in  his  cause,  the  advocate  can  not  look 
backward.  It  is  then  too  late  to  hesitate  or  repent.  If 
unexpected  difficulties  rise  up  before  him,  he  must  meet 
them.  He  can  not  flee  from  them.  He  must  meet  and 
overcome  them  or,  with  his  client,  be  overwhelmed  by 
them.  But  in  the  extreme  crisis  of  his  case,  as  at  all 
times,  he  must  preserve  absolute  fidelity  to  truth.  Under 
no  temptation  can  he  say  to  the  Court  that  the  rule  of  law 
is  otherwise  than  he  believes,  nor  to  the  jury  that  the  tes 
timony  is  not  what  it  appears  in  his  own  mind  to  be.  And 
why  shall  he  hesitate  or  listen  to  temptation?  Truth  is 
stronger  than  error ;  it  is  a  firmer  and  surer  support  for 
any  cause.  Experience  hath  shown  that,  in  all  the  mul 
tiplied  affairs  of  men,  truth  is  consistent  and  faithful, 
whilst  falsehood  is  treacherous.  It  is  only  the  sham  and 
the  pretender,  the  half-made  lawyer,  that  in  the  hour  of 
conscious  weakness  feels  that  he  must  resort  to  misstate- 
ment  of  either  law  or  fact.  The  man  of  real  ability  and 
solid  attainments,  invoking  truth  as  his  friend,  leans  with 
confidence  upon  his  own  powers.  He  who  abandons  con 
fidence  in  truth  is  a  bankrupt  in  the  profession. 

Arguments  before  the  Court  upon  qestions  of  law  but 
rarely  admit  sentiment,  imagination  or  ornament.  But 
it  should  not  therefore  be  supposed  that  the  advocate  may 
be  indifferent  and  careless  in  respect  to  the  style  in  which 
be  shall  address  the  Judges.  It  is  well  to  remember  that 
they  are  cultivated  men,  and  whose  tastes  have  been  re 
fined,  and  whose  understandings  have  been  strengthened 
by  the  careful  and  protracted  study  of  great  authors,  and 
that  they  can  not  but  appreciate  excellence  of  style  as 
Well  as  strength  and  soundness  of  argument. 

They  are  more  readily  and  favorably  impressed  when 


,082  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

thoughts  are  urged  in  agreeable  as  well  as  forcible  lan 
guage.  The  speaker  should  be  logical  and  accurate, 
and  if  possible,  so  present  his  views  that  they  may  not 
meet  hostility,  but  rather  be  received  with  pleasure. 
What  is  worth  saying  to  a  Court  should  be  well  said. 
When  Cicero  addressed  the  Judges  of  Rome,  he  did  honor 
to  their  culture  and  wisdom  by  the  elaboration  and  won 
derful  finish  and  completeness  of  his  arguments.  So  great 
was  the  influence  that  Quintilian  said  :  "And  though  the 
Judge  is  borne  down  by  his  power,  yet  he  feels  not  that 
he  is  forced  along,  but  that  he  follows  with  pleasure." 

The  jury  has  a  larger,  more  varied  and  interesting  field 
of  investigation  than  the  Court.  All  the  complicated  af 
fairs  of  life  come  within  its  province.  It  may  be  that  the 
newspaper  and  periodical  press  has  impaired  the  influence 
and  excellence  of  oratory  elsewhere,  carrying  to  the  peo 
ple  in  advance  the  facts  upon  which  the  orator  would  ad 
dress  them,  and  compelling  him  to  encounter  a  public 
opinion  already  formed  ;  but  before  the  jury  the  advocate 
has  to  deal  with  facts  coming  fresh  from  legitimate  sources 
of  evidence,  and  in  respect  to  which  the  jurors  are  free 
and  impartial.  Both  sides  are  represented,  and  the 
Court  sits  in  fair  judgment.  Deliberation  prevails,  and 
false  sentiment  is  excluded.  Absolute  rules,  the  result 
of  long  experience,  are  applied  as  tests  of  truth. 

There  is  no  other  tribunal  in  the  world  so  favorable  for 
the  display  of  vigorous  and  appropriate  oratory  and  for 
the  righteous  adjustment  of  differences  among  men  as 
the  English  and  American  jury.  The  expression  is  trite 
and  common  as  it  is  stupid,  that  "  nothing  is  so  uncertain 
as  the  verdict  of  a  jury."  The  opposite  is  the  result  of 
my  observation  and  experience  —  of  things  depending 
upon  human  motive  and  judgment,  nothing  is  so  certain. 
The  advocate  who  looks  to  a  great  future  would  do  well 
to  respect  this  sentiment.  Habitually  distrusting  his  ju 
ries,  he  can  not  succeed.  It  is  not  in  human  nature  to 


THE    ADVOCATE.  583 

yield  to  the  argument  or  persuasion  of  one  who  distrusts 
us.  The  jury  is  impartial,  and  is  carefully  selected  from 
the  body  of  the  people,  and  invariably  does  what  it  thinks 
is  right.  The  influence  of  truth  upon  the  human  mind  is 
.so  certain  that  the  juries  are  but  seldom  misled  or  mis 
taken. 

In  passing  upon  most  matters  of  fact,  juries  exercise 
that  common  sense  which  governs  their  own  conduct  and 
controls  their  judgment  of  men  in  every  day  life.  They 
will  not  and  indeed  can  not  exercise  any  new  faculties 
or  adopt  any  new  rules  of  judgment.  The  successful  ad 
vocate  will  appreciate  this  truth.  The  argument  must 
be  in  harmony  and  sympathy  with  the  common  sense  of 
the  jury.  To  offend  it  is  to  endanger  the  cause.  But  the 
advocate's  appeal  has  not  this  limit  and  restriction.  It 
may,  and  often  should,  reach  and  influence  other  and 
powerful  faculties.  The  farmer  in  his  field  and  the  miller 
beside  his  wheel  indulge  in  sentiment  and  imagination. 
Sentiment  gives  new  charms  to  the  events  of  life,  and 
imagination  clothes  the  fields  with  greater  beauty.  This 
farmer  and  miller  are  of  the  jury,  and  their  emotions,  sen 
timents  and  imagination,  influencing  and  being  influenced 
by  their  common  sense,  will  contribute  to  the  verdict. 
Upon  the  jury  are  many  varieties  of  mind,  and  they  can 
not  all  be  equally  influenced  by  the  same  address.  Prep 
aration  for  the  delicate  and  difficult  duties  of  the  advocate 
requires  the  cultivation  of  all  his  faculties.  He  must  be 
familiar  with  the  special  learning  of  his  profession,  and 
also  with  all  the  other  fields  of  science,  learning  and  lit 
erature.  These  are  illustrations.  In  cases  of  malprac 
tice  he  must  speak  readily  and  accurately  upon  questions 
of  surgery  and  materia  medica.  In  railroad  disasters  he 
must  be  prepared  upon  the  structure  and  management  of 
machinery,  as  well  as  upon  the  idea  of  contributory  neg 
ligence. 

Upon  the  issue  "  devisavit  vel  non  "  he  must  accompany 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

the  experts  and  philosophers  in  that  most  difficult  and 
obscure  of  all  investigations,  the  condition  of  the  human 
mind.  He  who  prosecutes  for  the  invasion  of  the  home 
circle  and  the  heartless  sacrifice  of  beauty  and  virtue, 
must  be  inspired  by  cultivated  and  refined  sentiment,  as 
well  as  guided  by  a  correct  understanding  of  the  law. 
The  advocate  must  be  prepared  to  deal  with  men's  affairs 
in  their  innumerable  variety.  But  what  shall  be  the  style 
of  his  address  to  that  very  interesting  tribunal,  the  jury? 
He  must  be  in  earnest.  Thereby  he  will  create  and  in 
terest  and  command  attention. 

Levity   of  manner  will  destroy  the  effect  of  a  speech 
otherwise  good.     There  is  no  faculty  more  dangerous  to 
the  advocate  than  wit.     It  will  not  be  held  in  restraint. 
The  jury  may  laugh,  but  they  are  not  convinced.     They 
regard  their  duties  as  important  and  serious,  and  they 
readily   suspect    they   are    being   trifled   with   when   the 
crowd   laughs.     The  parties   think   the   law  suit  in  the 
highest  degree  serious.     Humor  is  pleasing,  and  within 
proper  restraint  may  safely  be  indulged.     The  advocate 
should  seek  the  purest  and  strongest  language,  and  the 
best  and  most  beautified  style  he  can  command.     I  have 
no  respect  for  the  opinion,  sometimes  expressed,  that  a 
plain  and  blunt  style  should  be  adopted  out  of  deference 
to  the  understanding  and  taste  of  the  jury.     More  advo 
cates  fall  below  than  rise  above  the  jury.     The  purpose 
of  addressing  a  jury,  as  any  other  bod}'  of  men,  should 
be  to  make  upon  their  minds  distinct  and  permanent  im 
pressions.     The  beauties  of  poetry,  and  the  charms  of 
fancy,  as  well   as  the  power  of  reason  and  the  force  of 
logic,  may  help  to  recover  a  desperate  cause.     In  his  in 
imitable  defense  of  Ccelius,  Cicero  was  taxed  to  the  ut 
most  of  his  powers  to  withdraw  his  client  from  under  the 
prejudices  of  the  court  because  of  his  youthful  irregular 
ities   and  gallantries.     Over  the  faults  of  his  client   he 
threw  the  magic  influence  of  his  oratory,  and   also   the 


THE    ADVOCATE.  585 

charms  of  poetry,  and  then  exclaimed:  "  I  seem  now  to 
have  weathered  the  shelves  and  shallows  of  my  speech  ; 
the  rest  of  my  voyage  appears  to  be  smooth  and  calm." 
It  is  told  of  Mr.  Lincoln  that  he  saved  a  desperate  case 
for  an  old  man  by  capturing  the  sympathies  and  poetic 
sensibilities  of  the  jury  by  this  verse  from  "The  Last 
Leaf,"  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  : 

"  The  mossy  marbles  rest, 
On  the  lips  that  he  had  passed 

In  their  bloom ; 

And  the  names  he  loved  to  hear 
Have  been  carved  for  many  a  year 
On  the  tomb." 

The  force  and  effect  of  a  speech  at  the  Bar  must  greatly 
depend  upon  the  order  of  its  subjects  and  the  arrange 
ment  of  its  facts.  In  respect  to  these  the  relations  must 
be  logical.  If  lacking  greatly  herein,  no  brilliancy  of 
thought  nor  elegance  of  delivery  can  redeem  the  effort 
from  failure,  or  save  the  case  from  defeat. 

A  late  writer  has  said  :  "•  Every  series  of  facts  should 
be  brought  down  in  the  strictest  order ;  and  if  there  be 
many  series  operating  apart,  but  exercising  an  influence 
upon  the  main  action  of  the  drama,  they  should  be  brought 
down  in  their  natural  order  and  sequence  until  they  are  all 
centered  upon  the  common  point.  In  the  most  complicated 
and  tangled  circumstances  there  should  be  no  confusion. 
It  is  the  business  of  the  advocate  and  the  art  of  advocacy 
to  separate  them  and  to  show  their  relations  to  one  an 
other,  their  bearing  upon  each  other,  and  their  influence 
upon  the  main  action." 

When  I  was  yet  a  lad,  a  relative  of  mine,  who  was  not 
of  the  profession,  but  a  close  observer  of  men,  told  me 
about  the  lawyers  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  espe 
cially  of  Mr.  Alexander,  whom  he  esteemed  the  strong 
est. 

He  said  that  Mr.  Alexander  had  a  great  art  in  his  ad- 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

dresses  lo  juries  ;  that  he  would  commence  his  argument 
with  the  point  which  he  thought  the  weakest  in  his  favor, 
and  thence  pass  to  the  next  in  order  of  strength,  and  thus 
on  to  the  close,  so  that  as  he  approached  the  last  and  strong 
est  argument  in  his  appeal  to  the  jury,  he  would  assume 
the  greatest  earnestness  and  confidence  that  they  must 
stand  with  him  upon  this,  his  last  and  strongest  defense. 
The  argument  so  progressing  would  seem  to  accumulate 
force  and  become  very  powerful ;  but  if  adopted,  it  must 
be  in  harmony  with  the  "  order  of  facts  and  the  manage 
ment  of  causes  and  effects,"  logically  presented.  Most 
causes  of  importance  are  apt  to  hinge  upon  some  legal 
propositions  that  become  prominent  as  they  progress. 
The  facts  should  be  discussed  in  their  relation  to  such  le 
gal  propositions,  and  when  they  agree  they  should  be 
placed  prominently  and  together  before  the  jury. 

The  effect  of  an  argument  depends  greatly  upon  the 
manner  of  its  delivery.  This  is  universally  recognized, 
and  almost  as  generally  disregarded.  Good  speaking, 
with  clear  and  strong  delivery,  is  not  a  general  accom 
plishment  ;  it  is,  indeed,  a  rare  art.  Lawyers  think  bet 
ter  than  they  speak.  There  is  no  style  of  speaking  belong 
ing  peculiarly  to  the  bar.  The  same  manner  of  address 
ing  twelve  men,  if  good,  should  be  observed  in  speaking 
to  3,000,  except,  perhaps,  the  increased  volume  of  voice. 
In  the  presence  of  all  bodies  of  men,  the  words  should 
be  distinctly  pronounced  that  all  can  hear  without  an  ef 
fort.  With  pleasure  I  recall  the  matchless  elocution  of 
Edwin  Forest.  The  pronunciation  was  so  distinct  that  the 
letters  separately  seemed  to  ripple  from  his  tongue  and 
flow  into  every  part  of  the  house. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  proper  for  me  to  close  this  address 
by  a  brief  sketch  or  two  of  our  most  distinguished  men, 
who  exercised  great  influence  upon  the  affairs  of  our 
State,  but.  at  very  different  periods.  They  were  each 
capable  of  great  success  at  the  bar  ;  but  their  services  be- 


THE    ADVOCATE.  587 

ing  required  by  the  people  in  public  life,  their  fame  will 
rest  upon  their  public  rather  than  their  professional  rec 
ords.  They  commanded  an  oratory  that  was  admirably 
adapted  to  the  bar.  I  refer  to  Governors  Whitcomb  and 
Morton. 

Governor  Whitcomb  was  a  great  scholar.  He  was 
capable  not  only  of  acquiring,  but  of  using  the  accumula 
tions  of  learning.  With  him  learning  became  an  influ 
ence,  an  instrumentality,  a  power.  His  tastes  were  cul 
tivated.  He  commanded  beautiful  and  strong  language, 
and  in  it  he  clothed  his  thoughts,  that  were  always  appro 
priate  to  the  subject  and  the  occasion.  I  heard  him 
address  the  people  in  his  candidacy  for  Governor.  It 
was  the  greatest  political  speech  I  have  ever  heard. 
There  was  not  in  it  a  vulgarism  or  an  appeal  to  low  sen 
timent.  He  addressed  reason,  emotion,  sympathy.  The 
multitude  stood  enraptured.  As  men  went  from  the  place 
of  the  meeting  they  fell  into  grave  and  serious  conversa 
tion  about  what  they  had  heard,  and  the  impression  re 
mained.  From  that  day  he  was  a  leader,  but  not  as  men 
commonly  speak  of  leadership  ;  he  organized  no  political 
societies  ;  he  manoeuvred  for  no  combinations  ;  he  was  a 
leader  in  a  higher  sense.  He  declared  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  truth,  and  trusted  to  its  influence  upon  men's 
minds  to  bring  them  into  common  action.  He  led  legis 
lators  because  it  was  safest  for  them  to  follow.  His  man 
ner  was  grave  and  serious  ;  his  voice  was  full  and  musical, 
and  his  delivery  almost  without  gesture.  I  never  heard 
him  in  court,  but  am  sure  he  was  a  formidable  antagonist 
before  either  court  or  jury. 

Governor  Morton  was  not  what  is  called  a  ready 
speaker  in  the  sense  of  speaking  upon  the  spur  of  the  mo 
ment.  He  was  one  who  became  ready  by  careful  fore 
thought  and  preparation.  The  order  of  arrangement  re 
ceived  great  care.  The  positions  followed  one  after  an- 


588  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

other  in  adroit  sequence,  with  studied  effect  to  the  close. 
The  matter  was  carefully  chosen  and  considered.  The 
manner  or  style  did  not  share  the  same  attention.  His 
sentences  were  not  always  smooth — sometimes,  indeed, 
rough — but  always  strong  and  forcible.  Sometimes  a 
passage  occurred,  as  if  not  noticed  by  himself,  of  almost 
classic  force  and  beauty.  His  voice  was  clear  and  strong, 
his  gesture  heavy  and  not  frequent,  and  his  utterance  de 
liberate  and  distinct.  As  he  spoke,  the  impression  was 
felt  that  he  had  other  and  further  forces  which  he  might 
summon  to  his  aid  if  needed,  either  to  establish  his  own 
position  or  to  attack  that  of  his  adversary.  Force  was  the 
marked  quality  of  his  style.  He  chose  the  shortest, 
boldest  and  most  direct  method  of  attack  and  defense. 
When  stated,  his  proposition  was  understood,  and  he 
would  not  delay  to  repeat  it.  He  lacked  the  power  of 
persuasion.  It  was  probably  a  weakness  in  the  court 
house,  as  it  was  at  the  head  of  a  political  party.  In  de 
bate  he  was  a  combatant.  He  could  not  conciliate.  The 
want  of  development  of  that  quality  was  probably  the 
result  of  the  turbulent  times  in  which  he  was  an  actor. 

In  some  respects  these  distinguished  men  were  alike, 
and  especially  in  the  qualities  that  fitted  them  for  the 
bar.  In  manner  they  were  composed  and  dignified,  and 
whatever  they  entered  upon  became  a  matter  of  serious 
concern.  In  speaking,  their  style  was  somewhat  con 
versational,  never  boisterous,  but  always  audible  and 
forcible.  They  will  long  occupy  the  front  rank  in  the  in 
tellect  and  culture  of  the  State. 


A    COMMON    SYSTEM    OF   JURISPRUDENCE.  589 


XV.     RESPONSE 

TO    THE    TOAST,    "A    COMMON    SYSTEM    OF    JURISPRUDENCE    MUST    CEMENT 
NATIONAL    FRIENDSHIP." 

Banquet  in  Honor  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Coleridge,  Chicago,  September  25,  1883. 

Mr.  Storrs  and  Gentlemen  :  I  don't  know  how  a  free  and 
intelligent  people  may  more  emphatically  express  their 
respect  and  regard  for  another  free  and  intelligent  peo 
ple  than  by  the  adoption  of  their  laws.  It  is  to  say,  you 
are  virtuous  and  wise  and  strong,  and  we  will  trust  for  our 
future  to  the  influences  that  have  made  you  so.  National 
and  artificial  boundaries  may  mark  political  divisions,  and 
standing  armies  and  hostile  attitudes  may  maintain  es 
tablished  political  relations  ;  but  a  jurisprudence  common 
to  both  is  an  assurance  of  mutual  sympathy  and  perpetual 
peace.  Both  peoples  bow  to  the  authority  of  the  same  laws  ; 
and  if  there  must  come  between  them  trouble  and  strife 
and  bloodshed,  it  shall  be  charged  to  the  folly  of  a  vicious 
diplomacy  or  to  the  gratification  of  a  reckless  ambition, 
and  not  to  the  pacifying  influences  of  a  common  jurispru 
dence.  [Applause.]  It  was  in  1807,  when  this  great  re 
gion  of  the  Northwest  was  as  yet  in  a  territorial  condi 
tion,  that  a  Territorial  Legislature  adopted  the  common 
law  of  England  and  the  general  statutes  passed  in  aid 
thereof  prior  to  the  fourth  year  of  James  I.,  excepting 
three  or  four  statutes,  perhaps,  of  Henry  VIII  and  Eliz 
abeth,  and  excepting  also  such  provisions  of  the  law 
and  statutes  as  might  be  in  conflict  with  our  Constitution 
and  laws.  It  may  be  that  this  was  unnecessary — that  we 
need  not  have  adopted  the  laws  of  England  ;  but  lest 
there  might  be  uncertainty  as  to  the  extent  of  their  appli 
cation  in  our  country,  this  Territorial  Legislature,  com 
posed  of  men  not  cultured  in  the  laws,  representing  scat 
tered  settlements,  adopted  them.  It  may  be,  and  I  dare 
say  it  would  have  been  so,  that  these  laws  would  have 


590  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

been  ours  anyhow,  so  far  as  they  were  suited  to  our  con 
dition  and  consistent  with  our  institutions  ;  but  by  their 
adoption  certainty  was  secured,  and  such  laws  as  were 
not  suited  to  our  condition  were  excluded.  When  the 
Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  now  visits  our  country,  it 
is  not  to  seek  the  gratifications  of  curiosity  amid  scenes 
and  populations  to  which  he  is  a  stranger ;  but  he  comes 
here  to  observe  and  contemplate  the  development  of  the 
liberal  element  of  the  institutions  of  his  own  country  upon 
an  area  and  among  a  people  in  the  highest  degree  adapted 
to  such  development.  He  can  but  be  gratified  when  he 
sees  enormous  commerce  regulated  in  a  large  degree  bv 
the  usages  of  the  merchants  as  they  existed  long  before 
the  brilliant  policy  of  Lord  Mansfield.  He  sees  that  the 
common  law  as  he  administers  it  at  home  has  overtaken 
the  railroad  train,  and  the  rules  for  the  government  of 
the  common  carrier  have  become  the  law  of  their  control. 
The  passenger  has  the  protection  of  the  same  law,  re 
quiring  care  and  diligence  on  the  part  of  railroad  em 
ployes,  from  Edinburg  to  London  and  from  Chicago  to 
New  York.  The  American  who  has  just  arrived  in  Lon 
don  knows  his  legal  rights  quite  as  well  as  if  he  were  at 
home,  while  the  Englishman  just  landed  at  New  York 
knows  his  legal  rights  as  well  also  as  if  he  were  in  Lon 
don.  Perhaps  one  of  these  parties  —  I  need  not  say 
which — is  more  disposed  than  the  other  to  stand  upon  his 
rights  to  the  very  uttermost.  If  the  Chief  Justice  of  Eng 
land  and  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  should 
exchange  places,  the  judicial  machinery  of  the  two  great 
nations  would  move  on  without  interruption  or  disturb 
ance. 

[Mr.  Hendricks  then  went  on  to  tell  of  visits  to  courts 
in  England,  where  he  heard  the  same  arguments  used  as 
here,  and  the  same  appeals  to  justice,  and  he  felt  that 
every  man  he  saw  was  an  American,  because  he  heard 
the  language  of  the  law  common  to  both  countries.  And 


LETTER  FROM  EUROPE.  591 

he  had  heard  discussed  in  the  House  of  Commons  the 
cause  of  humanity  against  the  power  and  strength  of  one 
high  in  position,  who  had  murdered  a  subordinate  and 
had  not  been  tried  for  it ;  and  he  felt  that  he  might  be 
proud  of  the  country  from  which  his  ancestors  in  part  had 
come.  And  he  was  glad  to  do  honor  to  the  distinguished 
man  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  Judiciary  of  the  British 
Empire.] 


XVI.  IMPKESSIONS  IN  EUROPE. 

AN  INFORMAL   LETTER   TO   A   PERSONAL   FRIEND. 

Naples,  February  8,  1884. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  :  We  landed  at  Southampton,  on 
the  southern  coast  of  England,  and  thence  reached  Lon 
don  in  two  hours.  London  presented  nothing  of  special 
interest.  Parliament  was  not  in  session.  It  is  now  in  ses 
sion.  The  debates  will  be  of  great  interest.  I  do  not 
think  Gladstone  will  be  able  to  hold  his  power.  He  is 
eloquent  and  strong  in  debate,  and  will  prove  so  in  his 
own  vindication,  but  he  will  be  broken  by  the  Opposition 
on  the  charge  that  he  has  not  maintained  a  decided  policy 
in  the  affairs  of  Egypt,  but  has  allowed  the  interests  and 
honor  of  England  in  that  country  to  suffer  for  the  want 
of  prompt  military  support. 

After  remaining  in  London  a  few  days,  we  went  by 
Dover  and  Calais  to  Paris.  We  were  kindly  and  hand 
somely  received  and  entertained  by  our  minister  at 
Paris,  Mr.  Morton,  and  his  lady.  I  was  gratified  to  ob 
serve  that  they  were  popular,  not  only  in  society,  but 
also  in  official  circles.  I  became  indebted  to  M.  Brula- 
tour,  the  Secretary  to  the  Legation,  for  an  opportunity  to 
attend  the  debates  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the 
sittings  of  the  Senate  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 


592 


SELECTED    SPKKCHKS    AND    WRITINGS. 


stances.     The  budget,  or  bill  of  appropriations,  was  being 
considered,  and  the  debate  in  relation  to  some  appropri 
ations   for  the  benefit  of  the  church  became  extremely 
bitter.     It  is  the  custom   there,  as  in  the  Parliament  of 
England,  for  the  Ministers  to  appear  before  the  popular 
branch  to  defend  their  measures  and  policy.     Upon  this 
occasion  Mr.  Ferry,  the  President  of  the  Council,  who  is 
the  head  of  the  Cabinet,  appeared  in  defense  of  the  sec 
tions  of  the  budget  that  were  being  attacked.     He  is  a 
strong  man,  an  excellent  speaker,  and  possesses  great 
weight  in  the  country;  but  on  this   occasion  his  views 
were  not  acceptable,  and  his  manner  of  presenting  them 
was  positively  offensive  to  the  section  of  the  house  known 
as  the  Extreme  Left.     He  was  repeatedly  interrupted,  to 
such  an  extent,  indeed,  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed 
with  his  speech.     The  efforts  of  the  presiding  officer  to 
preserve  order  seemed  to  add  to  the  confusion.     Finally 
Mr.   Hughes,  the   Deputy  from   Marseilles,  in  extreme 
passion,  denounced  the  Prime    Minister  as    an    insolent 
fellow.     The  Premier  at  once  stepped  from  the  tribune, 
refusing  to  proceed  further  with  his  speech,  and  the  de 
bate  closed  for  that  day.     But  in  less  time  than  I  have 
occupied  in  writing  this,  a  resolution  was  passed  expel 
ling  for  fifteen  days  the  unruly  Deputy  from  Marseilles. 
This  small  man,  who  writes  poetry,  and  wears  a  great 
shock  of  hair,  and  loses  himself  in  a  tempest  of  passion 
and   becomes    very    absurd,   represents    in  the    popular 
branch  of  the  national  legislature  the  city  that  gave  the 
name  to  the  great  Revolutionary  hymn,  the  "  Marseil 
laise,"  a  hundred  years  ago. 

That  same  afternoon  I  was  at  the  Senate  Chamber  in 
the  palace  of  Luxembourg,  and  became  acquainted  with  a 
number  of  the  Senators.  Among  them  was  Senator  La- 
Fayette,  who  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  family 
whom  all  Americans  delight  to  honor.  I  spoke  of  the 
scene  which  T  had  just  witnessed  at  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 


LETTER    FROM    EUROPE.  593 

ties,  and  expressed  my  surprise  and  fear  that  stable  re 
publican  government  in  France  would  suffer  if  legitimate 
discussion  of  public  measures  and  policies  could  thus  be 
interrupted  and  prevented.  He  had  heard  of  it  by  tele 
phone.  With  considerable  warmth  he  replied  that  the 
occurrence  was  not  extraordinary,  and  that  he  himself 
had  witnessed  scenes  quite  as  discourteous  and  disturb 
ing  in  our  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington. 

I  am  sure  he  gave  too  much  importance  to  the  scenes 
he  referred  to.  I  may  have  done  the  same.  They  could 
not  be  made  the  subject  of  further  discussion. 

The  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies  have  each  300 
members,  as  I  understand.  Together  they  are  the  Par 
liament  of  France.  Before  the  Parliament  had  further 
considered  the  budget,  or  Mr.  Hughes  had  returned  to 
liis  seat,  we  found  ourselves  passing  down  the  valley  of 
the  Rhine  and  through  one  of  the  loveliest  and  most  fer 
tile  countries  of  the  world.  It  was  difficult  for  us  to  un 
derstand  how  the  people  should  be  cultivating  their  lands 
and  raising  vegetables  in  the  month  of  January,  at  a  lati 
tude  farther  north  than  Indianapolis  ;  yet  it  was  the  case, 
and  vegetation  was  thrifty  and  beautiful.  At  Marseilles 
Judge  Rand  decided  upon  a  departure  in  our  journey, 
and  a  voyage  of  four  hundred  miles  across  the  Mediter 
ranean  to  the  shores  of  Africa.  Mrs.  Hendricks  and 
William  Morgan  went  on  to  Nice,  while  Judge  Rand  and 
myself  spent  a  few  days  among  the  Arabs  and  Moors  of 
Algiers.  In  custom,  habits  and  character  the  Arabs  seem 
to  be  unchanged.  Returning  to  Marseilles,  and  thence 
through  tunnels  and  amidst  olive  orchards  and  vineyards, 
and  along  the  seashore  by  Nice,  Genoa  and  Pisa,  we 
reached  Rome. 

In  an  off-hand  letter  like  this,  any  attempt  to  describe 
Rome,  in  any  of  its  periods  of  existence,  would  appear 
•quite  absurd.  The  antiquary  must  locate  the  site  of  the 
38 


594  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

ancient  Capitol  and  of  the  Forum.  The  Colisseum,  the 
baths  built  by  the  Emperors,  and  the  aqueducts  are  seen  in 
broken  walls  and  arches,  great  and  strong,  but  broken. 
Some  of  the  church  architecture  of  the  Middle  Ages  be 
gins  to  yield  to  the  influences  of  time.  Beyond  the  Tiber 
St.  Peter  stands,  as  great  and  beautiful  as  ever.  And 
the  Tiber,  coming  down  frcm  the  Apennines  and  flowing 
grandly  through  the  city,  repeats  to  the  imagination  the 
story  of  Horatius  and  his  two  companions,  so  well  told  by 
Macaulay  in  his  "Ancient  Ballads  of  Rome."  Much 
of  the  architecture  of  that  period  is  now  covered  and 
hidden  by  modern  Rome. 

No  city  in  Europe  so  impresses  the  imagination  as 
Rome.  Her  armies  carried  her  power  from  the  Danube 
to  the  Thames ;  and  at  a  later  period  her  ecclesiastical 
authority  extended  beyond  and  ruled  more  supreme.  At 
both  periods  the  civilized  and  productive  world  was  trib 
utary  to  her  authority  and  power. 

I  suppose  the  art  of  sculpture  has  had  its  highest  develop 
ment  and  greatest  success  here,  especially  in  later  years. 
The  convenient  and  cheap  supply  of  the  purest  marble 
has  greatly  contributed  to  that  result.  It  is  a  great  pleas 
ure  to  visit  the  studios  of  the  accomplished  artists.  There 
you  see  the  best  specimens,  either  in  marble  or  in  plaster. 
In  the  sickness  of  Mr.  Rogers,  which  has  disabled  him 
from  work,  the  profession  has  lost  one  of  its  ornaments 
and  masters.  He  has  accomplished  a  great  amount  of 
work  in  many  varieties  of  style. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Simmons,  the  author 
of  the  Morton  monument,  upon  several  occasions — once 
in  his  studio.  He  has  bright  prospects  before  him,  and 
the  fact  that  he  is  a  native  of  our  country  adds  to  my  pleas 
ure  in  saying  this.  He  has  been  encouraged  by  the  favor 
able  assurances  from  many  quarters  in  respect  to  the  Mor 
ton  monument.  He  was  embarrassed  in  the  prosecution 
of  that  work,  by  the  fact  that  he  had  never  seen  Governor 


NOMINATING    HON.  JOSEPH    E.   M'DONALD.  595 

Morton.  When  I  saw  the  original  in  plaster  in  his  studio, 
I  said  to  him  that  I  thought  his  success  was  decided. 

From  Rome  we  came  to  Naples,  passing  over  a  coun 
try  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  capable  of  producing  two, 
three  and  four  crops  each  year.  Vegetation  is  now  well 
advanced.  I  would  have  thought  it  the  original  Garden 
of  Eden  had  I  not  been  taught  that  that  charming,  but  to 
our  race  unfortunate,  garden  had  its  location  somewhere 
in  Northwestern  Asia. 

This  is  a  charming  locality,  full  of  interest.  The  city 
is  well  built,  with  a  jolly  people  exceeding  half  a  million 
in  number.  It  encircles  the  bay,  famed  for  its  beauty, 
for  eight  or  ten  miles,  in  the  shape  of  a  horseshoe,  and 
from  the  bay  rises  upon  the  highlands.  Pompeii  is  but 
twelve  miles  distant,  and  Vesuvius  overlooks  all,  appear 
ing  to  stand  guard  in  the  daytime,  and  at  night  lighting 
the  beautiful  scenery  by  its  ceaseless  flame.  We  return 
to  Rome  to-morrow,  and  thence  commence  our  return  to 
Paris,  stopping  often  at  interesting  points.  Our  company 
has  enjoyed  our  voyage  and  journey,  and  we  have  been 
mutually  happy  in  our  own  society.  We  will  probably 
sail  for  home  early  in  March  or  by  the  middle  of  March. 
Respectfully,  T.  A.  HENDRICKS. 


XVII.     THE  NOMINATION  OF  McDONALD. 

SPEECH   IN   THE   DEMOCRATIC   NATIONAL   CONVENTION. 
Exposition  Building,  Chicago,  July  9,  1884- 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  This 
is  my  first  experience  as  a  delegate  in  a  National  Con 
vention  ;  and  as  I  rise  to  present  the  name  of  a  distinguished 
citizen  of  Indiana  in  connection  with  the  office  of  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  I  feel  the  delicacy  and  great 


596  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

responsibility  of  the  duty  I  have  undertaken.  fh 
pie  now  demand  a  change  in  the  management  of  Federal 
affairs  ;  and  if  this  Convention  will  give  them  half  an  op 
portunity  they  will  execute  that  purpose  in  the  election 
of  a  President  in  the  coming  fall. 

I  believe  the  nominee  of  this  Convention  will  soon  be 
come  the  chosen  President  of  the  United  States.  [Cheers.] 
He  will  be  the  first  inaugurated  President  for  twenty-four 
years.  [Cheers.]  He  will  come  in  burdened  with  all 
the  duties  that  usually  belong  to  the  high  office,  and  in 
addition  such  duties  and  delicate  responsibilities  as  be 
long  to  the  transfer  of  public  affairs  from  the  representa 
tives  of  one  party  to  the  representatives  of  another,  after 
long  control  by  the  latter. 

May  I  ask  your  attention  while  I  briefly  refer  to  some 
of  the  labor  and  responsibilities  that  will  require  courage, 
talent  and  strength  on  the  part  of  the  next  President  of 
the  United  States?  The  Constitution  imposes  upon  the 
President  the  duty  of  making  such  recommendations  to 
Congress  of  such  measures  as  he  shall  deem  important 
and  necessary.  How  delicate  and  important  that  duty 
becomes  !  The  President  is  clothed  with  this  authority 
by  the  Constitution,  the  Constitution  imposing  it  upon 
him.  Congress  will  heed  his  recommendation  with  great 
care.  When  Congress  convened  last  December,  revenues 
were  annually  accumulating  in  excess  of  the  demand  of 
an  economical  government,  at  the  rate  of  over  $50,000,000 
a  year.  That,  too,  under  a  revenue  system  that  had 
been  adjusted  within  one  year  by  the  Republican  party. 
When  the  accumulated  gold  overflows  the  vaults  of  the 
treasury  and  tempts  extravagant,  wasteful  and  sometimes 
corrupt  legislation,  who  can  question  that  revenue  reform 
is  the  first  duty  of  a  successful  party?  [Cheers.]  And 
if  a  Democratic  House  had  been  received  by  a  President 
in  harmony  with  it,  recommending  a  well-considered 
system  of  revenue  reform,  eliminating  vices  that  nestle 


NOMINATING    HON.  JOSEPH    E.  M'DONALD.  597 

in  existing  laws,  and  reducing  very  largely  the  amount 
of  the  revenue,  does  any  man  doubt  that  now  there  would 
have  been  a  very  great  relief  from  the  burden  of  exces 
sive  taxation,  and  that  we  would  have  a  system  of  revenue 
resting  upon  justice  and  fair  play? 

Foremost  among  the  duties  and  obligations  which  this 
great  Convention  should  admonish  its  nominee  to  repre 
sent,  is  that  the  laws  be  executed  and  that  the  expendit 
ures  be  greatly  reduced.  Shall  the  vast  standing  army 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  regiments  continue  under 
Democratic  rule?  [Cries  of  "  no."]  At  the  close  of  the 
war  I  believe  60,000  were  found  sufficient  to  execute  the 
civil  service.  The  official  register,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
was  somewhat  increased,  and  it  should  not  excite  our 
special  wonder ;  but  when  from  60,000  in  the  course  of 
twenty  years  it  shall  advance  to  120,000,  it  bids  the  De 
mocracy  pause.  The  supernumeraries  must  be  dismissed, 
unnecessary  employments  discontinued.  And  in  this 
connection  may  I  not  say  that  the  people  whom  you  rep 
resent  will  stand  like  a  stone  wall  beside  the  next  Presi 
dent  in  his  endeavor  to  promote  economy  and  general 
reform?  Eight  years  ago  our  party  declared  at  St.  Louis 
that  reform  is  necessary  in  the  civil  service,  and  it  de 
manded  a  change  of  system,  a  change  of  administration, 
a  change  of  party,  that  we  might  have  a  change  of 
measures  and  of  men.  [Applause.]  The  experience  of 
every  year  since  has  confirmed  that  declaration  and 
strengthened  the  demands.  It  is  but  two  weeks  ago  that 
a  Secretary,  standing  upon  the  witness  stand  in  the  pres 
ence  of  a  Senate  committee  to  hear  testimony  to  impeach 
one  of  the  Bureaus  in  his  own  Department — it  was  in  the 
Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery — said  that  the  false 
vouchers,  he  supposed,  did  not  exceed  $63,000.  In  for 
mer  times,  when  the  sensibilities  of  the  people  became 
offended  by  official  corruption,  they  themselves  under 
stood  the  work  .of  reform .  I  dare  say  many  of  you  bear 


598  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS, 

it  in  memory  that  an  entire  Administration  once  went 
down,  because  of  the  defalcation  or  embezzlement  of 
$62,000.  That  was  but  forty  years  ago,  and  that  was  the 
only  case  that  occurred  attracting  attention  during  that 
Administration.  Yet,  so  fearful  was  the  punishment  by 
the  people,  that  the  party  went  from  power  for  the  time 
being.  Who  expects  that  a  party  long  in  power,  with  all 
the  emoluments  of  public  position  received  and  enjoyed 
by  its  followers  and  retainers,  can  reform  itself?  The 
recent  case  to  which  I  have  referred  is  very  instructive. 
In  that  testimony  the  Secretary  said  that  a  year  ago  he 
had  received  a  letter  informing  him  of  the  misconduct 
of  one  of  his  employes,  and  that  very  recently  he  had 
been  told  of  two  others  engaged  in  the  nefarious  trans 
actions,  but  he  said  to  the  committee  that  so  earnest  was 
the  pressure,  especially  by  members  of  Congress,  for  a  re- 
appointment  of  the  head  of  the  Bureau,  that  he  could  not 
believe  it  possible  that  his  Bureau  was  in  the  condition  in 
which  he  found  it  at  last.  The  offenses  against  the  public 
service  are  numerous,  many  of  them  flagrant.  They 
must  be  pursued  to  their  hiding  places.  They  must  be 
brought  forth  and  exposed  and  punished,  and  the  agents 
that  the  President  will  employ — I  mean  the  new  Presi 
dent  that  you  are  to  nominate  here — the  agents  that  he 
shall  employ  must  have  no  one  to  shield  and  nothing  to 
conceal.  Let  fidelity  and  competency  once  more  on  the 
part  of  employes,  and  justice  and  fair  play  so  far  as  the 
people  of  the  country  are  concerned,  be  observed,  and 
reforms  will  follow.  I  hope  never  again  to  see  the  cruel 
and  remorseless  proscription  for  political  opinions  which 
has  disgraced  recent  Administrations. 

But  bad  as  the  civil  service  is,  I  know  that  there  are 
men  of  tried  fidelity  in  it.  I  know  that  there  are  men  of 
ability  in  the  present  service,  and  I  would  not  ask  that 
they  should  be  driven  from  office  ;  but  none  but  such 
ought  to  be  continued.  In  the  language  of  a  writer,  when 


NOMINATING    HON.  JOSEPH    E.   MCDONALD.  599 

we  come  to  define  the  rights  of  the  outs  and  those  that 
are  in,  let  it  be  understood  that  none  but  the  fittest  shall 
survive .  [Applause .  ] 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  hope  the  new  Administration  will 
hold  itself  instructed  by  the  sentiment  of  1876  [cheers]  in 
opposition  to  centralization,  to  that  dangerous  spirit  of 
encroachment  which  tends  to  consolidate  in  one,  and  thus 
create,  whatever  the  form  of  government,  a  despotism. 

I  have  but  one  other  sentiment  to  refer  to  before  I  shall 
call  your  attention  tc  the  claims  which  I  propose  to  sug 
gest  for  the  man  that  I  will  nominate,  and  in  respect  to 
this  sentiment  no  one  is  responsible  but  myself.  Nations 
never  devise  a  more  rational  umpire  of  difference  than 
force.  Much  blood  and  treasure  always  flow  before  in 
ternational  controversies  can  be  settled.  Controversies 
will  arise — they  are  inevitable — but  the  civilization  of 
this  age  demands  that  they  be  referred  to  the  disinter 
ested  States  for  settlement  by  friendly  arbitration.  The 
intervening  ocean  protects  our  young  Republic  from  the 
menace  cf  European  arms.  It  will  be  a  beautiful  spec 
tacle  when  this  Republic,  so  strong  and  so  secure,  shall 
lead  the  nations  in  a  movement  for  permanent  peace  and 
the  relief  of  the  people  everywhere  from  the  maintenance 
of  standing  armies  and  ships  of  war.  The  best  act  of 
General  Grant's  administration  was  the  settling  by  arbitra 
tion  of  the  controversies  touching  the  Alabama.  That 
settlement  stands  in  bright,  glorious  contrast  in  all  history 
with  the  use  that  he  himself  made  of  our  own  army  when 
lie  beleaguered  the  Capital  that  men  might  have  office 
to  which  they  were  never  elected.  [Loud  applause.] 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  :  I  have  to  suggest  for 
your  consideration  a  citizen  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  the 
Hon.  Joseph  E.  McDonald.  [Loud  and  long-continued 
applause.]  I  thank  you  for  this  reception  you  have  given 
to  his  name.  Born  in  an  adjoining  State,  Indiana  be 
came  his  home  when  but  a  boy.  He  learned  a  trade,  and 


000  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

that  made  him  self-dependent  and  very  respectable 
[applause],  and  after  that  he  pursued  his  studies  with 
such  opportunities  as  he  had,  and  finally  prepared  him 
self  for  the  great  profession  of  law  ;  and  from  the  time 
that  he  took  his  stand  in  the  court  house  of  his  county 
until  the  present  time,  when  he  stands,  it  may  be,  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  he  has  been  the 
peer  of  the  best  of  that  profession  in  the  West.  [Loud 
applause.]  First,  he  was  solicited  by  the  district  in  which 
he  lived  to  prosecute  the  pleas  of  the  State ;  afterward 
chosen  by  the  State  to  represent  her  as  the  Attorney 
General ;  next — not  next  to  that,  but  before  that — he 
went  from  his  own  district,  in  which  he  was  raised  from 
boyhood,  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  after 
ward  the  people  of  the  whole  State  sent  him  as  a  Sena 
tor  to  Washington.  Faithfully,  diligently,  ably,  for  six 
years  he  represented  Indiana  in  the  Senate.  He  was  wel 
comed  by  the  ablest  of  the  Senators  as  their  peer.  Mr. 
McDonald  has  been  a  student  of  the  learning  that  has 
made  the  Democracy  of  the  United  States  what  it  is  to 
day.  [Loud  applause.]  He  is  familiar  with  the  writings 
of  the  fathers,  and  his  opinions  are  based  upon  the  sen 
timents  that  came  to  him  from  their  pages.  He  is  of  clear 
perception,  of  strong  judgment,  of  earnest  convictions, 
fair  minded  and  just.  If  you  shall  honor  him  with  your 
nomination,  no  man  will  have  occasion  to  find  fault  with 
the  candid  and  frank  manner  of  his  reception  when  he 
may  go  to  the  White  House. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  do  not  speak  for  Mc 
Donald  alone.  I  do  not  speak  for  myself  alone.  I  do 
not  speak  for  those  thirty  gentlemen  who  directed  me  to 
stand  hero  and  speak  for  them.  I  speak  for  a  mighty 
State.  [Loud  and  long  continued  applause.]  But  ten 
days  ago  a  Democracy  that  never  steps  backward,  a  De 
mocracy  that  meets  the  contest  when  and  where  it  may 
[applause],  instructed  those  thirty  gentlemen  and  myself 


NOMINATING    HON.  JOSEPH    E.  MCDONALD.  601 

to  say  to  you,  Joseph  E.   McDonald  is  worthy  of  your 
consideration  as  the  candidate  for  President  of  the  United 
States.     [Loud  applause.]    What  is  Indiana,  and  what  is 
the   Democracy  of  Indiana?  This  mighty  State,  that  is 
neither  of  the  East  nor  of  the  West,  but  sitting  midway 
between  the  East  and  West,  resting  upon  Ohio,  associat 
ing  in  commerce,  in  trade,  in  good  neighborship  with 
adjoining  States,  this  great  State  has  said  to  us :   i  Pre 
sent  the  name  of  Mr.  McDonald  to  the  greatest  Conven 
tion  the  world  has  ever  seen'  [applause],  and  for  Indiana 
I  make  my  appeal  to  you  to-day.     What  heed  will  you 
give  to  Indiana?    For  twenty-five  years,  during  which 
I  have  had  some  responsible   connection  with  this  great 
party,  she  has  been  without  strife  or  discord  in  her  ranks. 
[Applause.]     She  acted  always  as  one  man ;  and  when 
the  election  days  have  come,  the  tread  of  her  Democracy 
has  been  as  the  tread  of  one  regiment  when  the  hour  of 
battle  is  at  hand.     [Applause.]     You  know  very  welly 
gentlemen,  that  Indiana  makes  no  question  whether  your 
candidate  shall  live  in  New  York,  or  Delaware,  or  Ken 
tucky.     You  know  very  well  that  when  the  crisis  comes 
Indiana  will  give  him  her  vote.     Are  you  going  to  make 
it  against  Indiana  because  she  is  so  faithful,  because  she 
will  not  hesitate?  Are  you  going  to  say  from  election  to 
election,  from  Convention  to  Convention :   '  We  need  not 
trouble  abov4:  that  solid  State.     She   is   all   right.      Her 
vote  will  go  well  at  the  election.     We  must  take  care — 
oh,  just  by  the  way  of  illustration — we  must  take  care  of 
New  York.'     [Great  laughter  and   applause.]     Is   that 
where,  as  a  representative  of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana, 
these  thirty  gentlemen  and  myself  have  to  stand  in  your 
presence?  We  ask  not  a  favor  because   Indiana  is  true 
always,  but  we  ask  that  that  shall  not  come  in  judgment 
against  her.     [Applause.]     When  many  of  your  States 
hesitated,  when  war  had  passed,  when  the  smoke  of  battle 
had  blown  away,  and  the  sour-"  of  guns  upon  the  plains 


602  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS 

and  among  the  mountains  had  ceased,  and  you  struggled 
and  we  struggled,  Indiana  was  the  first  State  to  carry 
the  banner  of  Democracy  to  the  front. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  a  man  of  good  attainments,  of 
high  character,  indorsed  by  my  State — I  present  his  name 
to  you,  and  all  I  ask  is  justice.  The  humblest  of  us  may 
ask  that  much ;  and  when  it  shall  come  to  be  that  in  a 
Democratic  Convention  justice  may  not  be  asked,  then 
perhaps  I  would  better  review  the  practices  of  the  past  and 
not  come  to  Conventions  at  all.  [Laughter  and  applause.] 
I  thank  you,  brother  Democrats,  I  thank  you,  Mr.  Chair 
man,  for  the  attention  you  have  given  me  while  I  have 
spoken  for  a  friend.  [Great  and  continued  applause  ;  a 
great  number  of  the  delegates  rising  to  their  feet  and 
swinging  their  hats,  etc.] 


XVIII.    THE  KEY  NOTE  OF  EIGHTY-FOUR. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  IMPROMPTU    RATIFICATION   MEETING, 
Governor's  Circle,  Indianapolis^  July  12,  1884-. 

My  Fellow  Citizens  :  You  are  almost  as  mad  as  they 
were  in  the  Convention  at  Chicago.  I  thought  they 
would  not  let  up  there  at  all ;  and  I  thought  there  was  no 
limit  to  the  crowd  of  people  there,  but  I  find  there  is  a 
larger,  almost,  here.  I  am  very  much  encouraged  and 
delighted  to  meet  you  on  this  occasion.  You  come  to 
celebrate  and  to  express  your  approval  of  the  nomina 
tions  that  were  made  at  Chicago.  I  am  glad  that  you 
are  cordial  in  this  expression.  This  is  a  great  year  with 
us.  Every  fourth  year  we  elect  two  great  officers  of  the 
Government.  This  is  our  great  year,  and  every  man, 
whatever  his  party  association  is,  is  called  upon  to  re 
consider  all  questions  upon  which  he  is  disposed  to  act, 


THE    KEY    NOTE    OF    EIGHTY-FOUR.  603 

and  having  reconsidered,  to  cast  his  vote  in  favor  of 
what  he  believes  to  be  right. 

The  Democracy  of  Indiana  appointed  me  one  of  the 
delegates  to  the  Convention  at  Chicago.  I  spent  nearly 
a  week  in  attendance  in  that  city,  and  I  now  return  to 
say  a  few  things  to  you,  and  only  a  few  things,  in  regard 
to  that  Convention.  It  was  the  largest  Convention  ever 
held  in  America.  Never  has  such  an  assemblage  of 
people  been  seen  before.  It  was  a  Convention  marked  in 
its  character  for  sobriety,  deliberation  and  purposes.  It 
selected  two  men  to  carry  the  banner ;  and  leaving  that 
Convention  and  going  out  before  the  people,  the  question 
is,  will  you  help  carry  the  banner?  I  do  not  expect — I 
have  no  right  to  expect — that  I  will  escape  criticism,  and 
it  may  be  slander,  of  the  opposite  party.  I  have  not  in 
my  life  suffered  very  much  from  that ;  but  I  come  before 
you,  Democrats,  Conservatives,  Independents,  all  men 
who  wish  to  restore  the  Government  to  the  position  it  occu 
pied  before  these  corrupt  times,  and  to  all  such  men  I 
make  my  appeal  for  your  support  for  the  high  office  for 
which  I  have  been  nominated  by  the  Democracy  at 
Chicago. 

Governor  Cleveland  is  the  nominee  for  President ;  a 
man  promoted  to  that  office  by  the  largest  majority  ever 
deciding  an  election  in  that  State.  He  is  a  man  of  estab 
lished  honesty  of  character,  and  if  you  will  elect  him  to 
the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  you  will  not  hear  of 
star  route  frauds  in  the  postal  service  of  the  country  un 
der  his  Administration.  I  will  tell  you  what  we  need. 
Democrats  and  Republicans  would  alike  agree  upon  that. 
We  need  to  have  the  books  in  the  Government  offices 
opened  for  examination.  Do  you  think  that  men  in  this 
age  never  yield  to  temptation  ?  It  was  only  two  weeks 
ago  that  one  of  the  Secretaries  at  Washington  was  called 
before  a  Senate  Committee  to  testify  in  regard  to  the  con 
dition  of  his  Department,  and  in  that  Department  was  the 


604  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

Bureau  of  Medicine  and  Surgery.  In  that  Department  an 
examination  was  being  had  by  a  committee  from  the 
Senate,  and  it  was  ascertained  by  the  oath  of  the  Sec 
retary  that  sits  at  the  head  of  that  Department  that  the 
defalcation  found  during  last  year,  as  far  as  it  had  been 
estimated,  was  $63,000  ;  and  when  asked  about  it,  he  said 
that  he  had  received  a  letter  a  year  ago  informing  him 
of  some  of  these  outrages,  and  a  short  time  since  some 
body  had  come  to  him  and  told  him  there  were  frauds 
going  on  in  the  service,  but  members  of  Congress  had 
recommended  the  continuance  of  the  head  of  the  Bureau 
with  such  earnestness  that  he  thought  it  must  be  all  right. 
And  now  it  turns  out  that  the  public  is  $63,000  out — and 
how  much  more,  no  man,  I  expect,  can  now  tell.  But 
what  is  the  remedy?  To  have  a  President  who  will  ap 
point  heads  of  Bureaus  who  will  investigate  the  condition 
of  the  books,  and  bring  all  the  guilty  parties  to  trial. 

My  fellow  citizens,  I  believe  for  such  duty  as  this,  for 
the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  for  the  people  of  this  country,  I  can  commend  to 
your  confidence  Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York. 
Not  long  since  there  were  troubles  in  the  local  govern 
ment  of  the  city  of  Buffalo,  and  the  conservative  people 
of  that  city  nominated  Governor  Cleveland  as  their  can 
didate  for  mayor,  not  upon  a  party  ticket,  but  upon  a 
citizens'  ticket,  with  the  duty  assigned  to  him  of  correct 
ing  the  evils  that  prevailed  in  the  government  of  the  city 
of  Buffalo.  He  was  elected,  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  the  office,  and  made  corrections  in  the  management 
of  the  affairs  of  that  city  so  clearly,  so  well  defined,  that 
the  people  of  New  York  took  him  up  and  made  him 
Governor  of  the  State,  and  that  is  the  way  he  comes  be 
fore  you  now.  He  who  corrects  all  evils  in  a  badly 
;idministerecl  city,  and  who  goes  from  that  service  into 
the  affairs  of  State  government  and  makes  corrections 


THE    KEY    NOTE    OF    EIGHTY-FOUR.  605 

there,  will  then  step  into  the  national  Government  and 
bring  about  reforms  there. 

My  fellow  citizens,  I  did  not  intend  to  speak  this  long 
to  you.  The  Convention  at  Chicago  did  not  realize  all 
that  we  expected.  For  myself,  I  had  no  expectations. 
In  no  sense  was  I  a  candidate  for  any  office  whatever. 
We  did  not  realize  all  that  we  expected,  but  I  believe  that 
is  the  fate  of  humanity  most  everywhere  and  under  al 
most  every  circumstance.  But  have  we  realized  that  which 
should  encourage  us  to  make  an  effort  for  good  govern 
ment?  Not  that  I  want  the  office  to  which  I  was  nomi 
nated,  for  you  know  that  I  did  not  desire  that,  but  some 
body  must  be  nominated  for  Vice  President  to  run  on  the 
ticket  with  the  candidate  for  President ;  and  when  a  ticket 
is  presented  to  you,  you  are  called  upon  to  pass  judgment 
upon  it  in  respect  to  its  merits  throughout.  That  is  the 
'question— will  you  support  it?  And  in  asking  that  ques 
tion,  I  want  to  ask  you  another.  Do  you  not,  all  of  you, 
Democrats  and  Republicans,  believe  that  the  affairs  of 
the  Government  have  been  long  enough  in  the  hands  of 
one  set  of  men  ?  And  do  you  not  all  believe  that  we  have 
reached  a  period  when  there  ought  to  be  a  change? 

I  do  not  ask  that  all  shall  be  turned  out ;  that  is  not 
the  idea.  If  a  man  has  done  his  duty  well  and  faithfully, 
if  he  has  not  used  the  powers  of  his  office  to  disturb  the 
rights  of  the  people,  if  he  has  not  furnished  money  to 
corrupt  elections,  if  he  has  simply  confined  himself  to  the 
duties  of  his  office,  I  am  not  clamoring  for  his  official  blood  ; 
but,  my  fellow  citizens,  of  all  these  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  men  that  now  fill  official  positions  in  the 
country,  we  have  no  right  to  suppose,  from  all  that  has 
taken  place,  that  they  are  all  honest ;  and  the  only  thing 
that  we  can  do  now  is  to  make  a  change.  A  month  ago 
everybody  supposed  that  all  the  employes  in  the  Bureau 
of  Medicine  and  Surgery  were  honest ;  and  now,  at  the 
very  first  examination,  it  turns  out  that  they  are  not.  But 


006  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

what  is  the  remedy?  Put  them  out  and  put  honest  men 
in.  We  can  not  do  that  if  we  leave  the  same  President 
and  heads  of  Departments  and  heads  of  Bureaus  in.  I 
have  every  faith  that  this  ticket  will  be  elected.  I  think 
I  know  something  about  Indiana.  We  will  probably  stand 
here  together — won't  we? — and  this  banner  of  liberty,  of 
right,  of  justice,  of  fair  government  that  has  been  put  in 
the  hands  of  Cleveland  and  Hendricks.  shall  be  carried 
and  placed  in  glorious  triumph  on  the  top  of  the  national 
Capitol  in  November  next.  Shall  this  be  the  people's 
banner?  You  have  no  interest  except  in  good  govern 
ment,  too,  and  I  think  I  have  none.  I  have  lived  a  good 
while.  I  have  tried  to  secure  your  confidence  and  to  pre 
serve  it ;  and  all  I  ask  of  you  is  your  support,  not  for  mv- 
self,  but  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children,  and  all  the 
people  that  are  interested  in  good  government. 

Now  I  have  spoken  longer  than  I  intended.  I  know 
when  any  of  my  Republican  friends  who  are  intending  to 
stand  by  their  party  still  longer  shall  see  this  crowd  here 
to-night,  they  will  think  the  doom  of  fate  has  come  at  last. 
Why,  I  happened  up  street  a  few  weeks  ago — it  was  just 
after  Elaine  and  Logan  were  nominated — and  I  saw  a  lit 
tle  gathering  of  very  honest  and  honorable  people,  be 
having  themselves  exceedingly  well  and  very  quietly,  and 
General  Harrison  was  delivering  them  a  speech  about 
the  nominations  made  at  Chicago  ;  and  really,  if  you  were 
to  bring  that  crowd  here  and  drop  it  down  among  you, 
you  would  not  find  it  at  all.  What  does  it  mean?  It  means 
that  the  people  intend  to  have  reform,  and  that  is  the 
watchword  that  is  written  upon  every  Democratic  ban 
ner.  It  was  written  upon  the  Democratic  banner  eight 
years  ago,  and  Tilden  and  Hendricks  carried  that  ban 
ner ;  but  reform  was  defeated  by  defeating  the  right  of 
the  people  to  elect  their  own  ruler,  and  what  is  the  con 
sequence?  There  has  been  no  reduction  of  public  ex- 


THE    KEY    NOTE    OF    EIGHTY-FOUR.       .  607 

penditures.  Although  the  war  has  been  all  the  while 
passing  farther  and  farther  away  from  us,  still  this  Re 
publican  party  makes  no  reduction  in  public  expenditures. 
Shall  we  have  it?  Shall  we  have  cheap  government? 
Shall  we  have  good  government?'  Shall  wre  have  lower 
taxes?  They  tell  us  that  the  Government  can  be  well  car 
ried  on  for  $100,000,000  less  than  is  now  collected  from 
the  public. 

If  Cleveland  shall  come  into  the  Presidential  office,  I 
believe  he  \vill  bring  expenditures  down  to  the  last  dollar 
that  will  support  the  Government,  economically  admin 
istered  ;  and  then,  when  he  does  that,  he  will  have  ac 
complished  what  General  Jackson  said  was  the  duty  of 
any  government.  A  government  has  not  the  right  to  col 
lect  a  dollar  from  the  people  except  what  is  necessary  to 
meet  the  public  service.  Whatever  a  government  needs, 
it  has  a  right  to  come  to  me,  or  to  you,  or  to  all  of  us,  and 
make  us  pay  for  it ;  but  when  it  gets  all  that  it  needs 
for  economical  administration,  it  has  not  the  right  to 
take  another  sixpence  out  of  our  pocket — and  that  is  all 
we  ask.  When  this  ticket  shall  have  triumphed,  that  idea 
will  be  established  in  this  country. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  attention  you  have  given 
me.  I  ask  you  simply  that,  as  a  citizen,  interested  in  all 
that  interests  any  of  us — that  you  will  give  your  attention 
to  this  campaign  and  never  cease  your  efforts  until  your 
Democratic  banner  with  Democratic  principles  of  reform 
and  cheap  government  is  found  waving  in  all  the  skies 
above  your  heads. 


£08  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

XIX.    REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  WAR. 

ADDRESS    TO   THE    DEMOCRATIC    VETERANS   ASSOCIATION, 

At  the  Hendrkks  Residence,  December  4,  1884. 

Captain  Myers :  I  am  very  much  gratified  that  you 
have  been  made  the  medium  by  your  comrades  to  express 
to  me  the  sentiments  of  your  own  speech,  and  of  the  ad 
dress  of  the  Association.  You  would  distrust  my  sin 
cerity  were  I  to  say  I  am  not  gratified  at  the  honor  you 
have  done  me.  The  congratulations  from  you  and  your 
comrades  are  especially  gratifying  when  I  consider  the 
fact  that  you  and  I  shared  in  the  contest  of  last  summer, 
which  I  regard  as  the  greatest  of  all  the  political  contests 
in  this  country  with  which  I  have  been  acquainted,  and 
that  we  have  come  out  of  that  sharing  alike  in  its  re 
sponsibilities  and  its  glory.  You  have  referred  to  one 
characteristic  of  the  contest  which  I  hope  never  to  see 
repeated  in  our  country.  The  personal  attacks  and  slan 
ders  that  have  been  indulged  in  were  unworthy  of  Amer 
ican  politics.  I  have  never  referred  to  any  of  these,  so 
far  as  they  personally  concerned  myself,  during  the  cam 
paign,  and  I  will  only  do  so  now  very  briefly.  During 
the  first  month  of  the  war  I  found  it  necessary  to  correct 
one  of  these  misrepresentations,  and  at  that  time  used 
the  following  language : 

"  Since  the  war  commenced,  I  have  uniformly  said  that 
the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is 
not  questioned  in  Indiana,  and  I  regard  it  as  the  duty  of 
the  citizens  of  Indiana  to  respect  and  maintain  that  au 
thority,  and  to  give  the  Government  an  honest  and  earn 
est  support  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  until  in  the 
providence  of  God  it  may  be  brought  to  an  honorable 
conclusion  and  the  blessings  of  peace  restored  to  our 
country,  postponing  until  that  time  all  controversy  in  re 
lation  to  the  causes  and  responsibilities  of  the  war.  No 


REMINISCENCES    OI^    THE    WAR.  609 

man  will  feel  a  deeper  solicitude  for  the  Indiana  soldiers 
as  long  as  the  conflict  remains  to  which  they  are  called, 
than  myself." 

The  sentiments  then  expressed  guided  my  conduct 
throughout  the  war.  One  of  the  political  leaders  of 
the  times  charged  that  I  failed  in  my  duty  in  having 
opposed  the  law  for  the  drafts.  To  opposition  to  the 
draft,  I  must  certainly  plead  guilty.  I  favored  an  army 
of  volunteers,  encouraged  by  suitable  bounties ;  and 
during  the  first  month  of  my  service  in  the  Senate  I  said 
that  I  desired  to  express  the  opinion  that  Congress  should 
encourage  volunteering  rather  than  rely  on  what  many 
deemed  an  unpopular  measure  of  the  Government,  namely, 
a  draft.  I  did  not  regard  the  draft  as  a  reliable  support 
for  the  army.  Prior  to  that  time  125,000  had  been 
drafted,  6,000  entered  service  under  the  draft,  10,000  sub 
stitutes  were  furnished,  and  20,000  were  induced  to  vol 
unteer  by  the  bounties  that  these  commutations  enabled 
the  Department  to  pay.  The  draft  of  125,000  resulted  in 
36,600  soldiers  in  the  field.  I  believed  then,  as  I  have 
believed  ever  since,  that  volunteers,  encouraged  by  suit 
able  bounties,  relieving  them  from  anxiety  about  pro 
viding  for  their  homes,  gave  the  best  assurance  of  support 
to  the  army.  The  same  politician  to  whom  I  have  refer 
red,  speaking  of  myself  said  :  "He  did  not  vote  in  favor 
of  any  measure  that  looked  to  carrying  on  the  war."  I 
will  refer  to  but  two  acts  of  mine  in  the  Senate  in  answer 
to  that  statement.  On  the  23rd  of  April,  1864,  I  offered 
an  amendment  to  the  Appropriation  bill,  to  increase  the 
pay  of  the  soldiers  and  non-commissioned  officers  rea 
sonably  in  proportion  to  the  then  depreciated  condition 
of  the  currency.  I  thought  that  proposition  was  an  en 
couragement  to  the  army  and  to  enlistments,  and  I  may 
say  that  Colonel  Lane,  then  my  colleague  in  the  Senate, 
voted  with  me  on  that  subject.  On  the  same  day  I  voted 
39 


(HO  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

for  the  great  Appropriation  bill  for  the  army,  for  the  year 
from  June  30,  1864  to  June  30,  1865 — I  believe  the  largest 
appropriation  bill  ever  passed  by  this  Government — voting 
$530,000,000;  and  under  that  appropriation  the  army 
was  carried  to  the  close  of  the  war  ;  under  it  many  of  the 
battles  were  fought,  and  under  it  Sherman  marched  to 
the  sea,  and  the  surrender  was  made  to  Grant. 

[The  Vice  President  closed  by  expressing  his  gratifi 
cation  at  meeting  the  Democratic  Soldiers  and  Sailors' 
Veteran  Association  of  Indiana,  on  this  occasion  and  in 
his  own  home,  and  tendered  them  his  thanks  not  only  for 
the  honor  they  had  done  him,  but  for  the  support  they 
had  given  him  in  the  great  contest  just  closed.] 


XX.    CIVIL  SERVICE  REFOKM. 

SPEECH  AT  THE  DINNER  OF  THE  BAY  STATE  CLUB, 

Parker  House,  Boston,  June  25,  1885. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Bay  State  Club  : 
I  have  not  the  command  of  language  sufficient  to  ex 
press  my  appreciation  of  your  kindness  to-day  toward 
myself  and  the  young  friends  who  have  traveled  with  me. 
I  did  not  expect  for  them  and  myself  as  kind  an  expres 
sion  of  your  regard,  and  I  shall  cherish  the  memory  of  this 
entertainment  as  long  as  I  shall  live.  It  is  somewhat 
significant  that  a  man  coming  from  Indiana  should  be  so 
welcomed  by  the  men  of  Massachusetts.  Never  before 
have  we  stood  face  to  face.  This  is  almost  the  first  visit 
I  have  ever  made — with  but  one  exception  for  a_  day  or 
two — to  the  State  of  Massachusetts  ;  but  I  have  had  kind 
and  interesting  memories  of  Massachusetts.  You  will 
not  think  that  because  I  live  far  out  in  the  West  I  have 
no  memories  of  the  great  things  that  have  transpired  here 


CIVIL    SERVICE    REFORM.  611 

beside  the  Bay  that  has  given  your  club  its  name.  Here 
our  Government — I  may  say  our  country — had  its  start  in 
life,  and  State  by  State  it  has  traveled  westward  until 
now,  actually,  the  State  of  Indiana,  in  which  I  live,  is  no 
longer  a  State  of  the  West,  but  is  almost  a  State  of  the 
East.  Indiana  at  least,  I  may  say,  claims  friendship  and 
kinship  with  Massachusetts.  [Great  applause.]  *  * 
#  *  *  What  is  decidedly  significant  is  not  that  an 
Indianian  is  here,  but  that  one  is  here  who  does  in  truth 
represent  the  sentiments  that  you  and  yours  do  believe 
in  [tremendous  applause],  and  I  accept  of  this  wonderful 
expression  of  your  regard  more  as  an  approval  of  the 
opinions  and  purposes  for  which  I  have  contended  than 
of  any  personal  confidence  and  esteem  that  you  may 
have  for  myself.  [Applause.]  They  are  a  good  way 
apart,  but  the  Democracy  of  Massachusetts  and  Indiana 
have  stood  together,  and  no  man  need  say  that  less  than 
sentiment  and  principle  holds  men  thus  together.  Around 
the  same  banner  the  men  of  Massachusetts  have  rallied 
and  the  men  of  Indiana  have  rallied.  It  means  that  you 
and  I  and  the  men  of  Indiana  believe,  I  repeat,  in  the 
same  doctrines  of  government.  And  coming  before  you 
to-day  and  accepting  this  honor,  I  do  not  come  to  make 
any  apology  for  my  Democracy.  [Applause  and  rising 
cheers  for  Thomas  A.  Hendricks.]  I  recollect  [cheers], 
when  I  was  nine  years  old  I  went  from  my  father's  farm 
on  the  hill  above  the  village,  to  attend  the  election  down 
in  the  town.  It  was  in  1828,  and  you  may  recollect  who 
was  the  candidate  of  the  Democracy  for  President  then 
[cheers  for  Andrew  Jackson],  and  when  I  got  into  the 
public  square  I  saw  a  hickory  pole,  and  on  the  top  of  it 
a  hickory  broom ;  and  old  Colonel  Aldrich,  a  courteous, 
kind  gentleman,  who  was  county  clerk,  told  me  that 
when  Jackson  was  elected  he  was  going  to  Washington 
and  was  going  to  sweep  everything  that  was  wrong  out 
of  it.  And  from  that  day  when  Colonel  Aldrich  told  me 


612  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

that  the  Democratic  broom  was  the  symbol  and  repre 
sentative  of  reform — from  that  day  to  this,  I  have  never 
apologized  for  my  Democracy.  [Long  continued  ap 
plause.  A  voice — "  Give  us  some  more  of  that."]  I 
think  the  president  of  the  club,  Colonel  Taylor,  referred 
to  the  vote  of  Indiana  in  the  last  campaign,  and  the  vic 
tory  of  the  Democracy.  I  had  no  doubt  about  that  vote 
at  all,  from  the  time  the  banner  was  thrown  out  to  the 
winds  of  heaven.  I  had  no  doubt  about  the  result  [ap 
plause],  although  but  four  years  before,  it  had  given  for 
Garfield  7,000  majority.  I  believed  that  we  could  carry 
it  7,000  the  other  way,  and  we  did  it  [applaure]  ;  and  I 
am  just  as  proud  to  stand  before  the  men  who  fought  the 
battles  here  in  Massachusetts  as  before  the  men  who 
made  it  7,000  in  Indiana.  If  you  had  had  no  unusual 
troubles  to  encounter  last  year,  Massachusetts  would  have 
gone  Democratic.  [Applause  and  cheers.  A  voice — 
"  Your  are  right  about  that."]  But  the  troubles  in  Mas 
sachusetts  are  passed  [applause],  and  so  I  have  the 
highest  confidence  that  at  the  next  struggle  between 
principle  and  opposing  influences  Massachusetts  will  take 
her  place  beside  Indiana.  [Applause.] 

I  have  heard  a  great  deal  said — and  I  take  a  great 
deal  of  interest  in  it — about  civil  service  reform.  I  think 
I  understand  the  subject  [uproarious  and  long  continued 
applause],  and  with  your  permission,  I  will  speak  of  it 
for  a  moment.  I  had,  when  a  younger  man  than  I  am 
now,  occasion  to  judge  upon  that  question  as  an  honest 
rnan,  as  a  man  whose  ambition  was  involved  in  the 
proper  construction  of  it.  Franklin  Pierce,  one  of  the 
stateliest  and  noblest  of  our  great  leaders  in  the  past  [ap 
plause],  without  any  solicitation  on  my  part,  in  an  auto 
graph  letter  addressed  to  myself,  asked  me  to  take  charge 
of  the  General  Land  Office  at  Washington.  I  accepted 
the  appointment,  and  for  nearly  four  years  I  stood  at  the 
head  of  that  office — an  important  office,  its  affairs  extend- 


CIVIL    SERVICE    REFORM.  613 

ing  far  beyond  the  reach  of  many  a  man  that  takes  a 
limited  view  on  the  question  of  civil  service  reform.  Its 
surveys  were  then  extended  beyond  the  Mississippi,  be 
yond  the  Missouri,  and  beyond  the  mountains  and  valle}'s 
of  California. 

And  the  settlers  were  going  out  from  the  Old  Bay  State 
and  from  Maine,  and  finding  their  homes  on  the  lands 
that  were  then  being  surveyed.  When  I  took  charge  of 
that  office,  with  180  clerks,  I  found  the  business  of  it  four 
years  behind.  The  patents  that  should  have  gone  to  the 
people  who  were  living  on  the  lands  were  four  years  be 
hind  thei^  date.  I  said  at  once  :  This  will  not  do.  The 
man  who  purchases  land  from  the  Government  has  a  right 
to  his  patent,  at  an  early  day,  so  that  he  may  sell  it,  or 
maintain  his  rights,  whatever  they  may  be.  At  once  I 
said  :  There  must  be  reform  in  this  office.  My  ambition 
is  connected  with  this  reform.  I  can  not  well  afford  to 
take  this  appointment  and  go  out  of  this  office  without 
having  brought  the  work  up  to  date.  [Cries  of  "  Good."! 
So  I  commenced  the  work  of  reform  seriously  and  very 
earnestly,  and  very  soon  I  became  acquainted  with  all  the 
clerks  in  the  office.  With  some  I  became  acquainted  by 
conversation,  with  some  by  reading  the  letters  they  laid 
before  me  for  my  signature,  and  with  others  by  consider 
ing  the  reports  they  made  upon  contested  cases  ;  and  in 
a  short  time  I  knew  them  all,  and  very  soon  I  knew  the 
clerks  that  would  be  able  to  help  me  through  with  the 
work  that  ought  to  be  carried  through,  and  very  soon 
those  who  were  unwilling  and  careless  and  indifferent  did 
step  out.  [Great  applause.]  No  fuss  about  it — but  they 
did  step  out.  [Laughter  and  applause.]  That  hickory 
broom,  which  represented  Democratic  reform,  was  the 
sentiment  and  emblem  of  the  reform  that  I  sought  to  bring 
about.  [Cries  of  "Good,  good."]  And  instead  of  the 
men  who  had  to  step  out  there  came  in  young  and  earn 
est  fellows  who  were  willing  to  do  the  work  ;  and  when  by 


614  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

one  general  order,  I  required  that  the  work  done  at  each 
desk  should  be  25  per  cent,  more  than  it  had  been  be 
fore,  these  young  men  came  in  and  took  their  task  read 
ily,  cheerfully  and  cordially ;  and  when  I  left  that  office, 
nearly  four  years  afterward,  it  was  only  four  months  be 
hind  in  delivery  of  the  patents  to  men  who  had  bought 
the  land.  [Applause  and  cries  of  "  good."]  From  four 
years  it  came  down  to  four  months,  and  that  was  as  close 
up  as  it  was  practicable  to  bring  the  work,  and  I  thought 
that  was  reform.  [Applause  and  a  voice, l<  That  it  was."] 
I  want  to  tell  you  another  thing,  gentlemen.  [A  voice, 
"  That's  right,  go  ahead."]  When  you  men  who  give 
your  votes  at  the  elections  and  pay  your  money  to  the  tax 
gatherers,  want  to  understand  the  particular  point  to 
which  civil  service  reform  can  be  brought,  I  will  tell  you. 
It  is  not  with  the  President  in  detail,  it  is  not  with  the 
Secretary  in  detail,  but  it  is  with  the  Bureau  officer  who 
has  to  do  directly  with  the  work  and  with  the  clerks  who 
perform  the  work.  I  am  not  personally  very  well  ac 
quainted  with  the  Bureau  officers  employed  by  the  Secre 
taries  at  Washington.  I  know  some  of  them  in  the  In 
terior  Department ;  I  know  the  Commissioner  of  the  Land 
office ;  I  know  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  affairs ;  I 
know  by  reputation  the  excellent  gentleman  in  the  Office 
of  Patents,  and  I  believe  all  of  them,  by  their  own  judg 
ment  of  affairs,  will  bring  about  civil  service  reform  in 
the  Departments.  [Applause.] 

I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  I  know  they  have  al 
ready  begun  the  steps,  and  that  the  people  will  not  be 
sold  out  by  them.  This  is  my  experience  in  civil  service 
reform.  It  may  be  of  no  account,  but  it  was  my  own 
[applause],  and  that  Administration,  whenever  and  wher 
ever  it  shall  be,  which  will  fill  all  the  Bureaus  in  Wash 
ington  city  with  capable  men  at  the  head,  and  tell  them 
that  the  work  devolves  upon  them,  and  hold  them  re 
sponsible — then  there  will  be  certain  and  prompt  reform. 


CIVIL    SERVICE    REFORM.  615 

f  Applause.]  I  did  not  intend  to  say  half  so  much  [cries 
of  "Go  on,  go  on'1],  but  I  think  you  are  perhaps  the 
most  irresistible  set  of  gentlemen  I  have  ever  met.  [Con 
gressman  Collins — "  We  want  more,  Mr.  Vice  Presi 
dent."]  I  think  we  are  going  to  come  through  all  right, 
but  it  was  a  good  while  the  Democrats  were  kept  out 
[laughter] — a  quarter  of  a  century  the  sentiment  of  this 
country  had  enforced  that  cruel  proscription  that  Demo 
crats  should  not  share  in  the  honors  of  the  public  offices 
of  the  country.  It  was  a  cruel  proscription,  such  as  I 
never  advocated  toward  the  opposite  party,  for  I  know 
there  are  honest  men  among  them,  and  I  would  not  to 
day,  if  I  could  do  it,  take  the  charge  of  this  Government 
entirely  away  from  the  opposite  side.  They  pay  taxes, 
they  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  country,  they  help  to 
fight  battles  when  horrid  war  comes  upon  us,  and  it  is 
but  fair  and  right  that  they  should  have  a  fair  share  in 
honors,  but  it  is  not  fair  that  they  should  clutch  them  all, 
and  say  to  the  young  men  of  the  Democracy,  "  You  are 
not  to  be  trusted,  and  you  shall  not  share  in  them." 

Gentlemen :  There  are  a  great  many  Massachusetts 
Democrats  in  Indiana,  and  when  I  come  across  a  Massa 
chusetts  Democrat,  I  find  him  about  as  hard-headed  a 
chap  as  there  is  out  there.  [Applause.]  They  seem  to 
come  out  with  ideas  already  formed,  and  are  not  like 
putty,  receiving  any  and  every  impression  that  may  pos 
sibly  be  made  on  them.  They  seem  to  be  men  with 
strong  convictions  and  opinions,  and  I  knowr  it  must  be 
so  here  in  Massachusetts.  I  want  to  assure  you  that  I 
appreciate  it  when  such  men  come  together  and  take 
their  seats  around  the  board  to  do  me  and  my  young 
friends  respect  and  honor.  [Applause.] 

I  have  only  one  more  suggestion  to  make,  and  that  is 
when  the  next  election  comes  off — and  I  want  to  say  I  am 
going  to  have  no  personal  interest  in  it  [cries  of  "  Doubt 
it"] — not  at  all ;  I  did  not  expect  to  be  connected  with 


616  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

that  of  last  fall,  but  the  Convention  in  Chicago  thought 
that  Indiana  ought  to  be  carried  or  I  ought  to  be  some 
what  disgraced  [laughter  and  applause],  and  I  made  up 
my  mind  I  would  not  be  disgraced.  When  I  come  back 
here  four  years  from  this  time— by  the  way,  I'm  coming 
here  more  frequently  than  heretofore  ;  you  invite  me, 
don't  you?  [Applause.]  I  want  to  bring  from  Indiana 
good  cheer  for  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  then  I 
want  to  meet  the  Bay  State  Club  and  have  them  tell  me 
that  Massachusetts  meets  Indiana  and  grasps  her  by  the 
hand,  and  takes  from  her  the  banner  that  represents  the 
Democracy  of  a  whole  nation  for  the  purposes  and  for 
the  sake  of  reform  in  the  public  service.  [Tremendous- 
applause.] 


XXI.    THE  SUPKEME  COUKT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES   AND 

THE  INFLUENCES  THAT  HAVE  CONTRIBUTED  TO  MAKE 

IT  THE  GEEATEST  TKIBUNAL  IN   THE   WORLD. 

AN  ORATION  DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE    GRADUATING  CLASSES    AND  ALUMNI 
OF   THE  YALE   LAW  SCHOOL, 

At  its  Sixty-first  Anniversary,  June  23,  1885. 

Mr.  President :  The  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America  occupy  to-day  the  first  place  among  the  nations. 
They  are  neither  disturbed  nor  threatened  by  European- 
dissensions.  They  repose  in  the  confidence  of  irresisti 
ble  power. 

The  quiet  that  reigns  within  their  borders  attests  the 
undisputed  sway  of  law  and  order.  Less  than  one  hun 
dred  years  have  passed  since  they  came  together  under 
the  Constitution  of  a  common  country.  Why  this  impos 
ing  result?  What  is  there  about  this  limited  Constitution 
of  the  Americans,  that  has  brought  them  this  incompar- 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.         617 

able  success,  in  their  effort  for  a  republic?  The  compact 
under  which  the  States  conducted  the  Revolution  was 
found  to  be  insufficient  for  the  purposes  of  a  permanent 
Government.  "A  more  perfect  Union  "  had  become  a  ne 
cessity.  Delays  were  not  allowed.  The  Constitutional 
Convention  of  Philadelphia  followed  fast  on  the  surrender 
at  Yorktown.  The  result  was  an  "  indestructible  Union 
of  indestructible  States"  ;  and  a  government  of  each  of 
the  several  States  "  possessing  all  the  powers  of  govern 
ment  not  delegated  nor  prohibited." 

A  thoughtful  writer  has  said  of  the  patriots  and  states 
men  who  framed  the  Constitution,  that  they  "  were  per 
sons  of  as  much  learning,  experience,  sagacity  and  pro 
bity  as  any  equal  number  that  have  lived  in  the  world." 
They  were  schooled  in  field  and  council,  and  had  learned 
the  lessons  of  political  wisdom  in  the  discussions  that  at 
tended  and  followed  the  Revolution.  In  their  work  they 
hoped  for  a  free  and  stable  republic.  They  clothed  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  with  power  necessary  to- 
guard  and  protect  the  interests  that  were  common  to  all 
the  people,  and  "  to  provide  for  the  common  defense  and 
general  welfare."  They  recognized  the  thirteen  States  of 
the  Confederation  as  sovereign  within  their  sphere,  and 
they  provided  in  the  Coustitution  for  the  admission  of 
many  new  States.  They  put  the  machinery  of  many  gov 
ernments  in  motion,  each  and  all  endowed  with  life,  and 
will,  and  purpose. 

As  wise  men  they  foresaw  that,  among  numerous  and 
powerful  States,  feuds  and  controversies  must  arise  ;  that 
disputes  of  boundaries,  conflicts  of  jurisdiction,  and  jarring 
interferences  were  inevitable.  And  they  knew  as  well 
also,  that  among  equal  States,  controversy  appeals  to 
pride,  and  conflict  must  follow.  The  work  of  establish 
ing  a  confederacy  of  equal  States,  stable,  harmonious 
and  enduring,  was  defective  and  unfinished  until  a  trib 
unal  should  be  provided  capable  of  commanding  the  re- 


618  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

spect  and  confidence  of  all  the  parties  to  the  Union,  and 
clothed  with  authority  to  enforce  obedience  and  submis 
sion.  And  thus  it  was  that  the  Supreme  Court  came  into 
existence — the  potent  agent  of  conservatism — and  at  the 
same  time  a  great  authority  in  the  State.  The  founders 
of  government  never  before  clothed  any  judicial  institu 
tion  with  such  dignity  and  control.  Indeed,  such  a  Court 
could  exist  only  in  a  government  of  defined  and  limited 
powers  and  under  a  written  constitution. 

Because  of  its  importance  and  power  the  founders  of 
the  Government  sought  to  make  the  Federal  Judiciary  up 
right,  fearless  and  independent ;  independent  of  legisla 
tive  aggression  and  executive  assumption,  and  also  of  in 
terests,  parties  and  classes  as  well.  To  that  end  the 
Judges  were  made  secure  in  their  salaries,  which  can 
not  be  reduced  during  their  holding ;  and  in  their  terms 
of  service,  which  are  fixed  at  good  behavior,  subject  onlv 
to  impeachment.  The  number  of  the  Judges  was  not 
fixed  by  the  Constitution,  and  Congress  has  from  time  to 
time  regulated  the  numerical  status  of  the  Court.  The 
action  in  that  respect  has  been  criticised  as  inspired  by 
sinister  aims,  the  claim  being  that  the  change  in  the  num 
ber  of  the  Judges  was  sought  in  order  to  secure  a  bench 
whose  views  on  Constitutional  and  political  questions 
should  be  in  accord  with  those  of  the  law  makers,  and 
the  dominant  political  party. 

Assuming  that  such  criticism  has  been  unwarranted, 
and  the  inspiration  of  partisan  zeal,  we  are  still  confronted 
with  the  suggestion  that  the  structure  of  the  Court,  as  es 
tablished  by  the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  was  faulty 
in  this  particular.  It  must  be  conceded  that  neither  Con 
gress,  nor  a  political  party  represented  by  the  Executive, 
should  possess  the  power  to  control  the  utterances  of  the 
Court  by  making  the  voice  of  the  minority  of  yesterday 
that  of  the  majority  of  to-day.  It  is  gratifying,  however, 
to  find  but  one  ground  of  criticism  in  the  constitutional 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.        619 

organization  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  that  even  there 
it  may  be  found  difficult  to  substitute  a  better  mode. 

From  its  organization  to  the  present  day  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  been  the  wise  expounder 
and  firm  defender  of  the  great  organic  charter  from 
which  it  derived  its  existence.  For  nearly  one  hundred 
years  it  has  stood  proudly  among  the  great  institu 
tions  of  our  country,  strong,  conservative  and  impartial. 
When  party  conflicts,  and  the  passions  they  arouse,  have 
carried  the  other  departments  of  Government  beyond  the 
constitutional  limit  of  their  powers  ;  when  the  reserved 
rights  and  powers  of  the  States  have  been  invaded,  or, 
when  any  of  the  constituent  sovereignties  have  attempted 
to  encroach  upon  the  just  powers  of  the  national  Govern 
ment,  its  voice,  calm  and  morally  omnipotent,  has  ar 
rested  the  encroachment  of  usurped  power.  Our  inquiry 
for  this  occasion  is  howr  and  why  did  it  occur  that  in  a 
country  so  new  as  ours,  and  so  imperfectly  developed, 
there  should  arise  an  institution,  not  only  instinct  with 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  justice,  and  wonderfully  capable 
of  judicial  investigation,  but  strong  to  deal  with  questions 
affecting  government  as  well  as  its  citizens.  It  may 
hardly  be  claimed  that  our  judges  have  surpassed  the 
judges  of  other  lands  in  culture  and  capability  of  thought. 
We  may  well  boast  of  Marshall,  of  Taney,  and  of  Story, 
eminent  in  all  the  qualities  that  adorn  great  judges  ;  but 
we  can  not  forget  that  of  right  England  cherishes,  with 
gratified  pride,  the  memories  of  her  illustrious  jurists,  of 
Hale,  Holt,  Mansfield,  Eldon. 

Opportunity  often  decides  who  shall  be  esteemed  the 
greatest.  The  opportunity  for  our  great  court  was  found 
in  the  ample  jurisdiction  with  which  it  wras  clothed,  and 
in  the  complicated  character  of  our  political  institutions. 
It  could  not  remain  a  common  Court  in  the  exercise  of  its 
constitutional  jurisdiction.  With  such  powers  and  pre 
rogatives  no  Court  had  ever  been  clothed.  Its  jurisdiction 


620  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

is  original  in  all  cases  affecting  the  representatives  of 
foreign  powers,  and  in  that  respect  it  stands  between  our 
country  and  possible  troubles  abroad.  It  is  original  also 
in  controversies  between  States,  giving  the  highest  assur 
ance  of  permanent  harmony  among  the  members  of  the 
Union.  Its  jurisdiction  is  appellate  in  controversies  of 
the  seas  ;  in  controversies  between  citizens  of  different 
State's  ;  in  disputes  arising  under  land  grants  of  different 
States ;  also  in  controversies  between  a  State  or  the  citi 
zens  thereof  and  foreign  States,  their  citizens  or  subjects  ; 
and  in  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be 
a  party;  and  beyond  these,  to  "all  cases  in  law  and 
equity  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the- 
United  States  and  treaties."  Out  of  the  powers  thus 
grouped  has  grown  the  judicial  structure  which  Judge 
Curtis  speaks  of  as  "the  greatest  Court  in  the  civilized 
world." 

Because  that  Court  has  to  deal  with  the  greatest  ques 
tions  it  became  greatest.  Like  other  courts  of  law  and 
equity,  it  had  to  consider  and  decide  important  questions 
of  practice,  of  pleading,  of  evidence  ;  and  like  them  also 
questions  of  fraud,  of  trust,  of  contract,  of  title  ;  but  be 
yond  and  above  all  these  it  became  its  high  duty  to  con 
sider  and  settle  questions  growing  out  of  the  peculiar 
character  and  complicated  structure  of  our  political  in 
stitutions  ;  questions  of  constitutional  power,  of  conflict 
ing  jurisdictions,  of  revenue,  of  currencv. 

The  welfare  of  a  free  State  requires,  as  reason  and  ex 
perience  suggests,  that  its  powers  be  divided  into  the  leg 
islative,  executive  and  judicial ;  that  they  shall  be  clearly 
and  distinctly  defined  ;  and  that  in  their  practical  opera 
tions  there  shall  be  no  confusion  ;  and  that  neither  shall 
encroach  upon  the  rightful  province  of  another.  It  is  the 
highest  duty  of  all  who  may  be  charged  with  the  affairs 
of  government  to  preserve  these  powers  separate  and 
distinct.  But  "  offences  must  needs  come,"  and  however 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.         621 

exalted  the  intelligence,  and  pure  the  patriotism  of  those 
who  enact,  and  those  who  execute  and  administer  the  laws, 
conflicts  of  jurisdiction  and  authority  must  occur,  and  the 
question  will  arise  which  of  the  great  departments  of  State 
shall  occupy  the  seat  of  authority,  and  prescribe  the  rule 
arid  the  limitation  to  all.  The  public  welfare  requires  that 
when  such  controversies  arise  the  judiciary  shall  sit  in 
judgment. 

But  as  against  the  legislative  department  the  mandate 
and  the  injunction  can  not  issue.  That  great  depart 
ment  can  neither  be  coerced  nor  restrained.  Yet  if  its 
work  be  found  in  conflict  with  the  Constitution,  or  in  dis- 
mrbance  of  the  Constitutional  harmony  of  the  departments 
of  Government,  the  Courts  will  interfere.  Judge  Perkins 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Indiana  declared  the  following 
as  maxims  or  axioms  in  American  jurisprudence : 

"  That  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  relatively  to  the 
acts  of  the  Legislature,  is  the  paramount  or  Supreme  law  ; 
that  when  the  two  conflict,  the  acts  of  the  Legislature  must 
yield  as  utterly  void." 

The  Courts  of  the  States  must  decide,  when  the  ques 
tion  comes  properly  before  them,  whether  there  be  a  con 
flict  between  the  State  Constitution  and  a  legislative  en 
actment,  and  if  so,  that  the  latter  is  therefore  void. 

A  high  and  responsible  duty  devolves  upon  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  passing  upon  the 
powers  of  Departments  of  Government,  and  upon  ques 
tions  of  Constitutional  law.  Such  authority,  as  already 
stated,  could  exist  only  in  a  government  whose  powers 
are  well  defined.  The  highest  Court  of  England  can  ex 
ercise  no  such  authority,  for  the  reason  that  England  has 
no  written  Constitution  enumerating  and  limiting  the 
powers  of  Parliament.  The  ancient  usages,  and  the  great 
statutes  that  constitute  what  is  known  as  the  Constitution 
of  England,  do  not  limit,  but  are  subordinate  to  the  powers 
of  Parliament.  As  usages  they  may  be  abolished,  and 


622  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

as  statutes  they  may  be  amended  or  repealed  by  the  Par 
liament.  In  the  United  States  only  are  the  rights  of  per 
sons  and  property,  the  rights  essential  to  liberty,  pro 
tected  by  a  Constitution  paramount  to  legislative  power, 
with  a  Judiciary  fully  empowered  to  defend  and  maintain 
the  same. 

A  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  he  approached  the 
decision  of  one  of  the   controversies  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  said  :     "  The  importance  of  the  main  question  pre 
sented   in  this  record  can  not  be   over-stated  ;  for  it  in 
volves  the  very  frame-work  of  the  Government,  and  the 
fundamental  principles  of  American  liberty."     What  was 
that  "main   question"  so  grave  in  its  consideration,  so 
serious  in  consequences?     It  was  whether  a  citizen  of  a 
State  not  in  rebellion,  and  himself  not  in  the  military  or 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  should  be  put  to  death 
upon  the  sentence  of  a  Military  Commission.  The  Consti 
tution  forbade  his  execution  unless  in  pursuance  of  a  trial 
according  to  the  course  of  the  law,  and  finding  by  an  im 
partial  jury.     But  the  sentence  had  been  pronounced,  and 
the  time  fixed.     Between   him  and  his  doom   there  was 
one  single  hope.     The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  cor 
pus  stood  suspended.     Neither  the  State  nor  her  Courts 
could  interfere.     In  that  crisis  of  individual   fortune,  in 
that  threatened  danger  to  Constitutional  liberty,  the  ap 
peal  was  made  to  the  Federal  Judiciary,  in  the  might  and 
in  the  right  of  the  Constitution.     The  petitioner  was  rep 
resented  by  Field,  Garfield  and  Black,  in   arguments  of 
unsurpassed  force,  learning  and  eloquence.    In  that  strug 
gle  the  civil  authority  and  the  military  power  stood  face 
to  face.     The  triumph  of  the  civil   authority  was  signal 
and  complete.     The  principles  of  liberty  as  declared  in 
the  Constitution  became  fixed  and  sure. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  is  a  tremendous  power. 
When  properly  invoked,  it  may  say  to  Congress  in  respect 
of  the  laws  it  has  passed,  to  the  States  in  respect  of  the 


THE  SUPREME  COURT   OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.         623 

Constitutions  they  have  adopted  and  the  laws  they  have 
enacted — the  Federal  Constitution  forbade  your  action ; 
it  shall  not  be. 

When  in  London  some  years  since,  I  heard  an  argu 
ment  of  interest  in  the  Queen's  Bench.  Lord  Cockburn 
presided.  The  debate  that  passed  between  the  Court  and 
the  barristers  was  sharp,  close,  and  exhaustive  as  possi 
ble.  But  the  case  related  only  to  some  bills  of  exchange, 
and  involved  questions  of  fraud  in  their  execution  and 
consideration.  It  was  of  interest  to  the  parties,  for  one 
of  them  would  be  richer  and  the  other  poorer,  as  the  case 
might  go.  But  what  cared  the  great  world  about  it,  ex 
cept  as  it  might  establish  or  modify  some  rule  of  trade? 

Upon  my  return  home  I  became  interested  in  the  argu 
ments  and  decisions  before  then  made  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  upon  the  question  whether  Congress  had  the  power 
to  impress  upon  the  Treasury  notes,  the  issue  of  which  it 
authorized,  the  quality  of  legal  tender  as  against  debts 
contracted  before  their  issue.  Such  a  question  could  not 
have  arisen  in  any  Court  of  England.  In  its  nature  and 
importance  it  rose  high  above  any  question  in  the  Eng 
lish  Courts.  It  involved  the  powers  of  Congress  over  the 
currency  of  the  country  and,  it  may  be,  the  ability  of  the 
Government  to  provide  for  its  own  welfare  in  periods  of 
greatest  peril.  In  such  investigation  the  Judges  passed 
beyond  the  sphere  of  ordinary  judicial  inquiry,  and  into 
the  field  of  statesmanship. 

Prominent  among  the  great  subjects  to  be  adjusted  by 
the  Departments  of  Government  has  been  the  Indian  pol 
icy.  In  its  settlement  the  Supreme  Court  has  borne  a 
conspicuous  part.  At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Con 
stitution,  vast  regions  of  our  country  were  inhabited  by 
aboriginal  populations,  which  were  divided  into  separate 
nations,  independent  of  each  other  and  of  the  rest  of  the 
world,  having  institutions  of  their  own  and  governing 
themselves  by  their  own  laws.  It  is  readily  perceived 


624  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

that  the  work  was  a  delicate  and  difficult  one  of  adjust 
ing  the  relations  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  the  several  States 
within  which  they  were  found  and  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States. 

One  of  the  important  cases  relating  to  the  Indian  tribes 
came  into  the  Supreme  Court  from  the  State  of  Georgia. 
In  the  year  1830  the  Legislature  of  that  State  assumed 
the  right  to  provide  for  the  government  of  the  Cherokee 
nation,  then  occupying  their  lands  within  the  limits  of 
that  State.  Severe  punishment  was  provided  against  a 
residence  within  the  Cherokee  country  without  the  au 
thority  of  the  Government  of  the  State.  An  indictment 
was  found  in  the  State  Court,  on  which  a  conviction  fol 
lowed.  The  case  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  by 
writ  of  error.  It  was  no  ordinary  law  suit ;  no  common 
controversy.  In  approaching  it,  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
said:  "  The  legislative  power  of  a  State,  the  controlling 
power  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  rights 
(if  they  have  any )— the  political  existence  of  a  once  numer 
ous  and  powerful  people,  the  personal  liberty  of  a  citizen, 
are  all  involved  in  the  subject  now  to  be  considered.  " 
Three  Governments  came  before  the  Court  for  the  adjust 
ment  of  their  relations,  and  the  settlement  of  their  con 
troversy  touching  Indian  policy  and  government  in 
America.  The  Cherokee  nation  claimed  to  be  an  inde 
pendent  and  separate  people,  occupying  their  own  coun 
try,  with  the  right  of  self-government  under  their  own 
laws.  The  State  of  Georgia  asserted  the  right  to  govern 
the  Cherokees  under  its  laws,  independently  of  all  other 
authority,  upon  the  ground  that  the  Cherokee  country 
and  people  were  within  its  boundaries,  and  within  its  gen 
eral  authority  and  jurisdiction.  On  the  contrary,  the 
United  States  Government  denied  such  authority  on  the 
part  of  Georgia,  and  insisted  upon  the  right  of  the  tribe  to 
self-government,  subject  only  to  its  own  authority  under 
the  Constitution  and  the  treaties. 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES          625 

No  controversy  ever  came  into  a  court  between  parties 
of  higher  dignity,  or  involving  questions  of  greater  mo 
ment.  The  decision  was  worthy  the  tribunal,  the  parties 
and  the  cause.  The  relation  between  the  Indian  tribes, 
the  States  and  the  Union  became  fixed  and  settled. 
Upon  that  question  peace  became  assured.  Disputed 
authority  and  conflicting  jurisdiction  could  no  more 
threaten  the  general  harmony.  By  this  decision  the  In 
dian  tribes  were  held  to  be  separate  and  distinct  com 
munities,  vested  with  rights  as  such,  including  the  right 
to  occupy  their  own  territory,  wholly  distinct  from  the 
territory  of  the  State  ;  and  including  also  the  right  to  en 
act  and  execute  their  own  laws.  By  the  decision  it  be 
came  settled  that  State  laws  can  have  no  authority  within 
the  Indian  territory  ;  and  that  intercourse  with  the  Indian 
tribes  shall  be  exclusively  under  the  authority  of  the 
United  States. 

The  Bank  of  the  United  States,  of  1816,  established  a 
branch  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  from  which  the  State  of 
Maryland  asserted  the  right,  under  its  own  law,  and  for 
its  own  uses,  to  collect  taxes.  The  authorities  of  the 
Bank  disputed  that  right,  and  also  denied  the  validity  of 
the  Maryland  statute,  upon  the  ground  that  a  State  could 
not  tax  "the  means  employed  by  the  Government  of 
the  Union  for  the  execution  of  its  powers."  Upon  the 
other  hand  the  State  of  Maryland  contested  the  Constitu 
tional  authority  of  Congress  to  charter  a  bank.  And 
these  questions  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  for  de 
cision  when  Marshall  was  at  its  head. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  on  this  occasion  to  consider  the 
decision  that  was  made,  nor  the  grounds  thereof,  but  only 
to  speak  of  the  enormous  magnitude  of  the  controversy, 
and  the  great  dignity  of  the  tribunal  that  was  clothed 
with  authority  for  its  settlement.  In  respect  to  that,  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  said:  "In  the  case  now  to  be  deter- 
40 


626  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

mined,  the  defendant,  a  sovereign  State,  denies  the  obli 
gation  of  a  law  enacted  by  the  legislature  of  the  Union  ; 
and  the  plaintiff,  on  his  part,  contests  the  validity  of  an 
act  which  has  been  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  that 
State.  The  Constitution  of  our  country  in  its  most  inter 
esting  and  vital  parts,  is  to  be  considered ;  the  conflict 
ing  powers  of  the  Government  of  the  Union  and  of  its 
members,  as  marked  in  that  Constitution  are  to  be  dis 
cussed,  and  an  opinion  given  which  may  essentially  in 
fluence  the  great  operations  of  the  Government.  No  tri 
bunal  can  approach  such  a  question  without  a  deep  sense 
of  its  importance,  and  of  the  awful  responsibility  involved 
in  its  decision."  An  opinion  was  given,  and  judgment 
was  rendered.  The  validity  of  the  Bank  charter  became 
established,  and  the  Maryland  statute  ceased  to  be  re 
garded  as  law.  The  opinion  of  the  country  bowed  in 
acquiescence  to  the  high  authority. 

When  did  Court  ever  sit  in  judgment  on  suitors  so 
august,  or  decide  controversies  so  momentous?  It  was 
not  because  property  rights  were  to  be  settled  or  indi 
vidual  or  corporate  liabilities  fixed,  that  the  decision  of 
the  Court  was  regarded  of  such  tremendous  consequence  ; 
but  because  the  powers  of  Government,  Federal  and 
State,  were  to  be  defined  and  settled ;  and  because  the 
relations  of  the  giant  suitors,  in  respect  to  affairs  of  the 
highest  importance,  were  to  be  established. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  the  tendency  of  Congres 
sional  legislation  was  to  strengthen  Federal  and  weaken 
State  authority.  That  tendency  appeared  in  the  civil 
rights,  the  enforcement  and  the  election  measures.  Much 
of  that  class  of  legislation  has  since  been  held  invalid  by 
the  Supreme  Court,  because  the  authority  to  enact  it  be 
longs  to  the  States  and  not  to  Congress.  In  one  of  the 
cases  that  arose  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Waite,  with  great  force 
and  clearness,  drew  the  line  between  the  legislative  prov 
ince  of  the  Union  and  that  of  the  States.  He  said:  k' We 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.         627 

have  in  our  political  system  a  Government  of  the  United 
States  and  a  government  of  each  of  the  several  States. 
Each  one  of  these  governments  is  distinct  from  the  others, 
and  each  has  citizens  of  its  own,  who  owe  it  allegiance, 
and  whose  rights,  within  its  jurisdiction,  it  must  protect. 
The  same  person  may  be  at  the  same  time  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  and  a  citizen  of  a  State,  but  his  rights 
of  citizenship  under  one  of  these  governments  will  be  dif 
ferent  from  those  he  has  under  the  other." 

I  have  read  this  passage  from  the  opinion  of  the  Chief 
Justice  because  of  the  strong  and  original  manner  in 
which  he  vindicated  and  defended  the  rights  of  the  citi 
zens  of  the  States  from  interference  on  the  part  of  Con 
gress?  The  acts  denounced  in  the  indictment  were  not, 
and  could  not  be  made  offences  against  the  authority  of 
the  United  States.  The  power  was  not  granted  in  the 
Constitution,  and  necessarily  was  reserved  to  the  States. 
The  theory  of  the  decision  was  that  to  each  of  the  gov 
ernments,  Federal  and  State,  belonged  the  duty  and  the 
authority  to  protect  the  rights  and  privileges  of  its  own 
citizens,  and  that  neither  should  pass  the  Constitutional 
boundary  line.  Over  that  line  the  judicial  sword  turns  ev 
ery  way,  and  usurpation  can  not  pass. 

I  need  not  further  notice  the  plan  upon  which  this  im 
posing  tribunal  was  constructed.  It  was  better  than  any 
which  had  preceded  it ;  far  better  than  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution  could  have  supposed  they  had  wrought.  In 
many  respects  they  were  without  plan  or  model.  No 
such  Court  had  existed  ;  none  could  exist  until  our  com 
plicated  system  of  government  took  its  place  among  the 
political  institutions  of  the  world.  Of  necessity  the  judi 
cial  system  had  to  be  in  harmony  with,  and  auxiliary  to, 
our  political  system.  The  Federal  Judiciary  could  not 
be  clothed  with  that  general  jurisdiction  which  it  was  ex 
pedient  to  leave  with  the  State  Courts.  But  provision  had 
somewhere  to  be  made  for  the  adjustment  of  controver- 


628  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

sies  arising  upon  the  seas  ;  controversies  between  States 
and  between  citizens  of  different  States ;  controver 
sies  in  which  the  United  States  have  an  interest ;  and 
cases  arising  under  the  Constitution,  the  laws  and  the 
treaties  of  the  United  States.  The  provision  was  wisely 
made  in  the  Federal  Judiciary. 

It  was  a  difficult  work,  and  of  rare  excellence,  to  pro 
vide  a  suitable  judicial  system  for  the  country  ;  yet  it  is 
found  completed  in  a  few  sentences  of  the  Constitution, 
covering  perhaps  a  half  page  of  printed  matter.  And  it 
has  gone  from  State  to  State,  keeping  pace  with  our  de 
velopment,  trade  and  commerce,  and  readily  meeting  the 
increased  demands  upon  its  capabilities.  It  has  borne 
the  test  of  the  experience  of  this  century,  the  most  event 
ful  of  all  the  centuries,  and  the  judgment  of  the  country 
to-day  is  that,  in  its  organization,  in  its  jurisdiction  and 
powers,  and  in  its  relation  to  the  political  institutions,  it 
is  as  nearly  perfect  as  any  work  of  man.  Experience  has 
suggested  but  one  amendment  to  the  Constitutional  defi 
nition  of  its  powers,  and  that  is  a  negative  to  the  privil 
ege  of  any  citizen  to  commence  and  prosecute  any  suit  in 
Law  or  Equity  against  any  one  of  the  United  States. 

You  will  not  pardon  me  if  I  leave  this  subject  without 
making  mention  of  the  illustrious  Bar  of  that  day ;  the 
group  of  giants  that  clustered  around  Marshall  and  his 
associates.  Did  they  not  contribute  to  the  greatness  and 
splendor  of  the  Court?  In  their  fertile  brains  the  great 
arguments  first  had  root  and  growth.  That  was  an  era 
of  important  questions,  of  leading  causes.  Such  questions 
and  causes  produced  and  developed  a  BaY  of  correspond 
ing  splendor  and  ability.  Webster  and  Wirt  and  Pinck- 
ney  were  some  of  those  whose  names  gave  luster  to  the 
Court  in  which  Marshall  presided. 

Seldom  has  the  history  of  our  profession  more  com 
pletely  shown  how  the  Bench  and  Bar  influenced  and  ag 
grandized  each  other ;  how  great  lawyers  create  and  are 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.         629 

created  by  great  Judges.  The  record  of  many  of  the  great 
debates  of  that  day  is  very  incomplete ;  but  such  as  it  is, 
and  as  tradition  has  brought  it  down  to  us,  in  every  ex 
cellence  of  thought  and  style  the  argument  in  front  of  the 
Bench  equaled  the  decision  from  the  Bench,  that  gave 
the  law  as  it  remains  until  this  day.  It  could  not  be  oth 
erwise  when  Webster,  and  Wirt,  and  Pinckney  spoke,  al 
though  Marshall  ruled. 

As  Judges  first  are  lawyers,  so  the  Bar  alone  can  supply 
the  material  from  which  the  judicial  character  is  formed. 
The  Philadelphia  Convention  believed  that  they  might 
safely  confide  to  the  lawyers  of  coming  generations 
the  important  duty  of  maintaining  a  pure  and  efficient 
Bench.  Was  a  trust  ever  more  worthily  reposed — more 
sacredly  kept?  It  is  a  high  honor  to  the  American  Bar, 
that  it  has  stood  guard  at  the  portals  of  that  Court,  ad 
mitting  throughout  the  century  only  exalted  merit.  From 
the  first,  men  of  giant  stature  and  fair  proportions  only 
were  chosen.  Many  of  the  great  lawyers  stood  by  at  the 
birth  of  the  Republic,  and  were  inspired  by  the  patriotism 
that  guided  and  controlled  the  people.  And  in  the  fol 
lowing  years  they  were  keenly  alive  to  the  responsibility 
that  rested  on  them  in  connection  with  the  public  welfare. 
Zeal  for  the  public  good  guided  and  stimulated  their 
studies,  not  only  in  the  paths  of  professional  learning, 
but  also  in  their  investigations  of  the  important  questions 
constantly  growing  out  of  the  organization  and  the  prac 
tical  operation  of  the  new  system  of  government.  Rare 
professional  attainments  thus  became  united  with  the  in 
formation  and  sthe  wisdom  of  the  statesmen.  By  such 
men  the  Court  was  to  be  filled,  and  by  such  men  it  was 
to  be  instructed  and  supported. 

Such  was  the  Bar  that  united  with  the  Federal  Court 
Bench  to  secure  for  it  the  exalted  station  and  magnifi 
cent  results  that  followed  upon  the  opening  of  the  century. 
Fortunate  indeed  was  that  Bench  in  the  character  of  its 


630  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

seconding  at  the  Bar.  Never  was  the  clear  utterance  of 
constitutional  law  and  of  justice  more  often  and  more 
largely  the  off-spring  or  the  sequence  of  professional  re 
search  and  zeal. 

I  had  thought  briefly  to  sketch  some  of  the  illustrious 
men  who  constituted  the  Bar  of  that  day  and  contributed 
to  the  greatness  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  I  find  the 
number  crowding  upon  me  too  great  and  the  material 
that  could  not  be  rejected  too  large  for  an  opportunity 
such  as  the  present.  May  I  pass  by  the  larger  number 
without  mention,  and  ask  that  the  chief  three  shall  rep 
resent  all — Pinckney,  Wirt,  Webster?  Does  it  not  seem 
strange  that  historic  greatness  is  so  often  found  in  clus 
ters  of  three  ?  The  chronicler  of  the  most  brilliant  period 
of  Hebrew  history,  so  found  the  great  names  of  his  day. 
Mention  need  not  be  made  of  the  brilliant  three  whose 
achievements  so  much  adorned  the  history  of  modern 
England  ;  or  of  the  three  equally  illustrious  statesmen  of 
our  own  country.  But  to  me  it  seems  most  marvelous 
that  one  is  found  the  chief  of  three  the  greatest  statesmen 
and  of  three  the  greatest  lawyers  of  his  country — Web 
ster. 

Pinckney  was  a  giant  of  his  time,  and  swayed  the  pro 
fession  he  so  much  adorned,  like  a  monarch.  Wirt  was 
the  finest  classic  orator  of  his  day,  and  by  the  brilliancy 
of  his  achievements  attracted  a  large  share  of  the  atten 
tion  and  admiration  of  his  countrymen.  Last,  but  great 
est,  came  Webster.  I  do  not  dwell  upon  the  imposing 
characteristics  of  a  public  life  so  fresh  in  your  memories, 
and  merely  touch  on  the  professional  features  of  his  un 
rivaled  career,  which  not  only  immortalized  his  name, 
but  so  decidedly  influenced  the  judicial  sentiment  of  the 
period  through  which  he  moved.  From  early  life  he  was 
much  absorbed  in  the  history  and  interpretation  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,  and  the  inquiries  incident  to  the  in 
fancy  and  development  of  the  Union.  In  this  and  like 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.        631 

fields  of  inquiry  his  research  was  ardent  and  unremitting, 
and  for  many  years  preceding  his  death  he  stood  without 
a  rival.  His  opinions  were  formed  on  absorbing  reflec 
tion,  and  uttered  with  the  force  which  his  magnificent 
intellect  commanded. 

Such  are  some  of  the  typical  characters  of  the  early 
national  Bar.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  they  permanently 
impressed  their  opinions  and  sentiments  upon  the  judicial 
findings,  and  through  them  upon  the  political  institutions 
of  the  country. 

And  what  shall  I  say  of  the  Court  itself  and  of  its 
Judges?  Such  a  judicial  history  has  never  been  made 
in  human  annals.  Purity,  patriotism,  learning  and  inde 
pendence  marked  every  year  of  its  existence.  How 
noble  and  imposing  the  procession  of  sages  led  by  the 
illustrious  Jay  ;  and  how  difficult  to  do  justice  to  the  mem 
ories  of  the  patient  and  unpretending  men  who  toiled 
steadily  on  through  the  long  judicial  life,  and  turned 
neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  amid  the  exciting 
scenes  about  them.  They  have  their  reward  in  the  fer 
vent  gratitude  of  a  great  and  happy  people ;  they  have 
their  fame  secured  in  the  world-wide  fame  of  the  Court 
itself. 

One  name  they  themselves  delighted  to  honor  and  see 
honored,  the  head  of  the  Court,  the  leader  of  all  Courts, 
the  greatest  judicial  character  the  world  has  known — 
Chief  Justice  Marshall.  His  record  covers  thirty-four 
years  and  thirty-one  volumes  of  the  Reports.  He  was 
already  great  in  his  own  time  ;  the  applause  of  his  deeds 
overtook  him  while  the  robe  yet  rested  on  his  shoulders, 
and  he  went  to  his  eternal  rest  renowned  throughout  the 
earth.  His  fame  has  grown  within  the  passing  years, 
and  now,  a  half  century  since  his  call  to  the  great  forum, 
sixty  millions  of  people  praise  him  with  increasing  ven 
eration,  as  they  contemplate  the  magnificence  of  his 
works  and  the  deep  foundations  thereof.  The  beauty  of 


SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

his  life  and  the  full  and  overflowing  measure  of  his  ser 
vice  deserve  more  of  us  than  we  can  give.  The  Court 
that  he  contributed  so  much  to  establish  and  make  useful 
and  honorable  to  the  country  is  his  grandest  monument. 
Pure,  white,  firm  and  immovable,  let  it  ever  stand  thus 
in  commemoration  of  the  faith  he  so  well  kept. 
[The  remaining  sentences  were  extemporaneous.] 

Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Graduating  Class :     I  have 
spoken  to  you  of  a  glorious  past ;  of  the  law  as  laid  down 
by  great  Judges,  as  enforced  by  an  illustrious  Bar.     As  I 
look  into  your  faces  to-day,  I  can  but  think  of  the  future 
that  lies  before  you,  the  future  of  our  country,— a  future 
that  depends  much  on  the  profession  to  which  you  are 
about  to  unite  yourselves.     Who  of  you  will  be  the  silver 
tongued  Pinckney,  who  the  brilliant  Wirt,  who  the  mas 
sive  Webster,  is  not  the  inquiry  I  would  make  ;  but  who 
will  be  the  painstaking,  faithful,  honorable  lawyer,  that 
best  feels  the  sacredness  of  his  trust  as  a  minister  of  jus 
tice?     Who  will  take  up  the  cause  of  the  poor  man,  and 
see  that  he  stands  before  the  law  the  equal  of  the  richest 
and   highest?     Who  will  make  it  his  ambition  to  spend 
laborious  years  in   making  the  utmost  of  the  powers  he 
has,  by  putting  them  to  the  best  use  of  which  they  are 
susceptible? 

Do  your  thoughts  turn  towards  the  achievement  of  po 
litical  distinction?  Then  remember  ever,  to  quote  the 
words  of  another,  that  "  Public  office  is  a  public  trust.'' 

When  you  are  Judges  you  may  not  be  as  great  as  Mar 
shall.  You  can  not  be.  The  place  he  filled  and  created 
in  our  judicial  history  is  for  him  alone.  But  the  question 
is  this — when  you  are  Judges  will  you  be  as  true  as  Mar 
shall? 

And  so,  to  those  of  you  whose  lives  are  to  be  spent  in 
the  practice  of  your  profession,  I  say,  you  may  not  be  a 
Pinckney,  a  Wirt,  or  a  Webster,  but  you  may  be  as  true  as 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT  FOR  IRELAND.  633 

they ;  as  true  to  the  causes  you  bring  before  the  Court, 
as  true  to  the  community  to  which  you  belong,  as  true  to 
the  great  system  of  administrative  justice  of  which  hence 
forth  you  form  a  part. 


XXII.  LOCAL  SELF-GOVEKNMENT  FOR  IRELAND. 

SPEECH   AT   THE    PARNELL   RATIFICATION   MEETING. 

Masonic  Hall,  Indianapolis,  September  8,  1885. 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow  Citizens :  Always,  what 
ever  may  be  her  condition,  Ireland  will  find  devoted  and 
steadfast  friends  in  the  United  States.  Some  years  ago 
I  was  called  upon  to  attend  a  meeting  of  another  nation 
ality.  When  the  war  was  pending  between  France  and 
Prussia  the  Germans  of  this  city  held  a  very  large  and 
interesting  meeting  to  express  their  sympathy  in  the 
course  of  Germany  in  that  controversy.  I  felt  it  right 
then  to  participate  in  that  meeting,  because  the  sons  of 
Germany  were  deeply  interested  in  that  contest.  This  is 
no  contest  between  navies  or  between  armies  for  the  es 
tablishment  of  good  government  in  Ireland,  and  very 
specially  do  I  enjoy  participating  and  joining  with  you 
Irish  men  and  Irish  women  in  expressing  the  sentiments 
you  express. 

What  shall  be  the  government  of  Ireland?  For  many 
years  it  has  not  been  a  controverted  question  that  Ireland 
has  been  dealt  hardly  by.  It  is  known  the  world  over  that 
Ireland,  from  the  days  of  Henry  II  until  this  hour,  has  not 
had  fair  play  from  Great  Britain.  On  the  contrary  she  has 
been  denied  the  rights  of  equal  citizenship,  and  has  been 
despoiled  of  her  lands.  Every  Irishman  here  to-night, 
every  Irishman  in  America,  is  a  protest  against  the  bad 
governing  of  England  toward  Ireland.  How  is  it  you  are 
here,  having  left  almost  the  most  beautiful  land  in  the 


634  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

world?  Perhaps  no  part  of  this  globe  is  more  attractive 
than  Ireland,  and  yet  you  left  Ireland.  You  are  here  be 
cause  you  could  not  get  good  government  in  Ireland. 
Forty-five  years  ago  the  population  of  the  "  Green  Isle  " 
was  nine  millions  of  people — a  large  population  for  a 
region  of  country  only  the  size  of  Indiana.  To-day,  after 
the  lapse  of  forty-five  years,  that  population  is  only  five 
millions,  a  loss  in  less  than  half  a  century  of  four  millions 
of  people,  almost  an  entire  half  of  the  entire  population 
gone  from  Ireland. 

I  know  the  famine  of  1843  had  much  to  do  with  this, 
but  bad  government  and  cruelties  by  her  landlords  have 
done  more  than  famine  and  pestilence  to  depopulate  the 
beautiful  isle.  I  would  say  it  is  a  serious  matter  when  a 
man  or  woman  chooses  to  leave  the  home  that  has  been 
the  home  of  ancestors  for  many  centuries  ;  and  when, 
on  account  of  bad  government,  unjust  laws  and  a  cruel 
system  of  tenantry,  there  has  been  driven  away  almost 
half  of  the  population.  The  question,  "What  is  to  be 
done,"  comes  up.  It  can  not  remain  always  this  way. 
The  landlord  who  draws  the  rent  can  not  always  enjoy 
it  in  Paris  and  London.  He  must  have  part  in  the  for 
tunes  of  the  people  of  the  country,  or  quit.  It  can  not 
always  be  that  the  people  of  Ireland  are  to  be  oppressed. 
I  think  the  day  of  tyranny  in  every  form  is  to  pass  away, 
and  that  the  day  is  soon  to  come  when  all  men  will  be 
blessed  with  good  government  and  just  laws. 

It  is  well  enough  for  you  and  me  to  understand  just 
what  the  political  contest  in  Ireland  is.  I  chanced  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  House  of  Commons  a  few  years  ago,  and 
heard  this  cause.  Mr.  Parnell  then,  as  now,  was  the 
leader,  and  held  that  in  respect  to  her  domestic  affairs, 
Ireland  should  have  the  right  to  make  her  own  laws. 
There  are  this  Fall  one  hundred  members  of  Parliament 
to  be  elected  from  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Parnell  expects  that 
of  this  number  his  cause  will  carry  eighty  or  eighty-five, 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT  FOR  IRELAND.      635 

so  that  when  Parliament  meets  there  will  be  of  true,  tried 
and  reliable  friends  of  Ireland  at  least  eighty  members. 
They  will  go  to  Parliament  for  the  purpose  of  asserting 
the  right  of  local  self-government  for  Ireland.  What  a 
beautiful  system  that  will  be.  They  get  it  from  you  Irish 
men  in  America. 

Here,  as  I  said,  is  Indiana,  about  the  same  size  with 
Ireland,  differing  not  more  in  extent  than  half  of  Marion 
county,  with  a  population  not  more  than  half  as  large  as 
Ireland.  We  here  would  allow  no  man  to  speak  of  tak 
ing  from  us  the  right  and  power  of  local  self-government. 
We  recognize  the  right  and  power  of  the  General  Govern 
ment  ;  but  what  affects  you  and  me,  and  the  people  of  In 
diana  with  us,  is  that  Indiana  makes  her  own  laws.  The 
mission  of  the  men  to  be  sent  from  Ireland  to  Parliament 
is  to  have  for  Ireland  what  we  Indianians  enjoy — to  claim 
the  right  to  make  our  own  laws,  simply  because  we  can 
regulate  our  own  affairs  better  than  any  one  else  can  reg 
ulate  them  for  us.  So  Irishmen  on  their  own  soil,  for  that 
simple  reason,  must  be  the  legislators  for  Ireland.  That 
was  the  great  argument  first  asserted  in  this  country. 
One  hundred  years  have  established  the  fact  that  local  self- 
government  with  respect  to  local  affairs  is  the  true  sys 
tem  of  government  in  this  world. 

The  great  trouble  in  Ireland  to-day  is  the  land.  Where 
there  is  trouble  with  the  lands  in  any  country,  the  trouble  is 
exceedingly  great.  Much  has  been  done  in  Ireland  to  make 
better  the  condition  of  the  tenant,  but  the  land  trouble 
still  exists,  and  it  must  be  regulated.  It  must  be  regu 
lated  as  we  regulate  such  matters  in  Indiana,  by  legis 
lators  from  the  soil.  No  question  can  arise  between  land 
lord  and  tenant  in  Indiana  that  is  not  regulated  by  our 
Legislature.  So  Ireland  must  have  local  self-govern 
ment.  Who  in  Indiana  would  trust  to  any  other  State  for 
the  legislation  for  her  schools  ;  for  the  building  up  of  her 
industries?  So,  according  to  Mr.  Parnell,  not  only  the 


636  SELECTED    SPEECHES    AND    WRITINGS. 

agricultural  classes,  but  the  mechanics,  the  people  of  the 
cities  and  towns,  must  live  ;  and  when  Ireland  becomes 
clothed  with  the  right  and  power  of  local  self-govern 
ment  these  matters  will  be  cared  for. 

That  is  the  doctrine  so  plainly  expressed  and  so  pow 
erful  in  its  application  to  human  interests  that  it  will  never 
stop.  It  will  go  on.  It  is  not  reasonable  that  in  Lon 
don  the  relation  of  the  landlord  and  the  tenant  shall  be 
fixed.  It  is  against  reason  and  justice  that  such  a  prac 
tice  should  permanently  prevail.  When  the  men  to  be 
elected  by  the  friends  of  Ireland  come  to  Parliament  it 
will  be  to  say  as  one  man,  "  Local  self-government  in  Ire 
land." 

You  are  asked  to  help  in  this  election.  There  are  to 
be  no  mistakes  made  at  this  election.  There  will  be  no 
shams,  no  frauds.  Ireland  is  tremendously  in  earnest. 
Before  any  man  is  nominated  he  is  to  give  a  written 
pledge  to  sit  and  vote  and  act  with  the  members  repre 
senting  Ireland  and  favorable  to  Ireland's  cause.  Mr. 
Parnell  is  a  very  great  leader,  and  I  believe  he  is  going 
to  lead  his  countrymen  to  triumphant  success.  It  is  pro 
per  that  I  should  say  to  you  that  the  friends  of  your  coun 
try  in  Ireland  rely  upon  the  differences  between  the  two 
great  Engligh  parties— the  Whig  and  Tory,  or  the  Radi 
cal  and  Liberal.  Not  greatly  different  are  they  in  num 
bers  and  force,  and  Mr.  Parnell  relies  on  this  ;  and  if  Ire 
land  is  thoroughly  united  in  the  struggle  between  the  two 
English  parties  ;  Ireland  will  be  placed  where  she  ought 
to  be  in  her  political  relations  with  the  world.  Each  party 
seeking  strength  from  the  Irish  vote,  will  help  to  place 
Ireland  where  she  has  the  right  to  stand. 

I  think  this  cause  will  go  further  than  has  been  yet 
mentioned.  It  will  result  in  just  what  we  have  in  In 
diana — a  written  Constitution.  Ah  !  that  is  what  I  hope 
to  see — Ireland  to  be  governed  by  a  written  Constitution, 
in  which  the  Parliament  will  be  restricted  as  our  Legisla- 


LOCAL  SELF-GOVERNMENT  FOR  IRELAND.  637 

ture  is  by  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  Will  it  not  be  a 
grand  surprise  when,  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  there  will 
meet  a  Constitutional  Convention  to  form  a  Constitution 
for  Ireland? 

I  observe  Mr.  Parnell  favors  only  one  branch,  one  Par 
liamentary  body.  He  is  afraid  of  a  House  of  Lords,  per 
haps  ;  but  he  could  have,  as  we  have,  a  Senate  in  its  stead, 
and  thus  be  saved  from  errors  and  faults  of  legislation. 
I  do  not  know  of  anything  that  would  give  me  greater 
pleasure  than  to  attend  that  Constitutional  Convention 
in  Dublin.  [Great  cheering.]  I  want  to  live  until  that 
time. 

.Let  us  come  back  to  the  great  question  which  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  government,  the  question  of  the  right 
of  the  people  to  make  their  own  laws,  and  that  no  other 
power  has  a  right  to  make  laws  for  them.  You  remem 
ber  where  we  stood  one  hundred  years  back.  You  re 
member,  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  we  asserted 
the  right  of  men  to  govern  themselves.  That  is  the  great 
foundation  idea  of  America,  and  is  now  being  applied  in 
Ireland,  a  cause  to  which  you  are  to  give  your  sympathy 
and  support — the  right  of  man  to  govern  himself,  and  to 
abolish  laws  that  are  inimical  to  his  welfare.  [Great  ap 
plause.] 


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